Resource Search

Feral swine can carry foreign animal diseases like African Swine Fever. While ASF has never been found in domestic or feral swine in the United States, there is no treatment or vaccine for it. That’s why surveillance is very important. Help protect U.S. pigs by immediately reporting sick or dead feral swine.

WHAT TO DO: If you find a sick or dead feral swine with no obvious injury or cause of death, report it right away. Call the USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services program in your State at 1-866-4-USDA-WS. Don’t wait! Quick detection is essential to preventing the spread of ASF.

In response to the increasing damage and disease threats posed by expanding feral swine populations in the U.S. , Congress appropriated funds to APHIS in 2014 to create a collaborative National Feral Swine Damage Management Program. Congress continues to allocate funds annually to support the program. The program’s overarching goal is to protect agricultural and natural resources, property, animal health, and human health and safety by managing feral swine damage. APHIS collaborates with many stakeholders—including States, Tribes, other Federal agencies, universities, and the public—to accomplish this goal.
See related resource: Squeal on Pigs!

Located across approximately 39 states, feral hogs cause an estimated $1.5 billion annually in agricultural and ecological damage. The Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force is a group of agencies dedicated to eradicating feral hogs from the state. Accurately measuring the Arkansas feral hog population is part of that process. Sightings can be reported at the Arkansas Feral Hog Sighting Report Form.

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is pleased to announce the release of the newly created Arkansas Feral Hog Handbook, a guide to resources available in Arkansas to assist with feral hog control and eradication. The handbook includes contact information, websites, and brief explanations of the resources offered by state and federal agencies and other entities. "The Arkansas Feral Hog Handbook was made possible through a grant funded by the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. We appreciate their partnership and the information provided by other Feral Hog Eradication Task Force members to make the handbook a comprehensive educational resource for Arkansans," said Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward.

The handbooks are being distributed to the public at locations throughout the state with assistance from partner organizations, including the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Game and Fish, and Arkansas Farm Bureau. Copies of the handbook can be requested at lori.scott-nakai@arkansas.gov. An online version of the Arkansas Feral Hog Handbook (2020) [PDF, 4.48 MB] is also available.

Feral swine are an invasive species which cause extensive damage to crops, property, and the environment. They are also known to carry over 30 diseases and 37 parasites that can be transmitted to livestock, people, pets, and wildlife. When feral swine are sighted in North Dakota, the State Board of Animal Health should be notified immediately. Attempts will be made to identify whether the swine are truly feral or if they are escaped domestic swine which are private property. Individuals who encounter feral swine should not destroy them unless they encounter feral swine on their own property and there is a threat of harm or destruction of property. As soon as possible following destruction of the animal, but always within 24 hours, the individual must notify the State Board of Animal Health (BoAH) at 701-328-2655.

On June 1, a new regulation was published in the Delaware Register of Regulations (Volume 26, Issue 12) listing potbellied pigs and feral swine of any kind as invasive. The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) is providing a 30-day grace period for potbellied pig owners to apply for an Invasive Animal Permit. Owners have until August 12 to submit an application and comply with 3 DE Admin. Code 906 Possession, Sale, or Exhibition of Non-Native and Invasive Animal Species.

Whether called wild pigs, feral hogs, or wild boars, these opportunistic and invasive omnivores live in groups called sounders. Removing whole sounders is the most effective management method, but requires follow-up trapping and hunting due to their incredible reproductive potential.

See also: Fact Sheets for more information about individual invasive species, including those listed as "Prohibited Noxious" and "Noxious" under the Alberta Weed Control Act

See also: Publications for more resources

Every five years, Congress develops and passes a Farm Bill that outlines agriculture and food policy for the country. In the Farm Bill, Congress can create new programs and reform existing ones. In recent Farm Bills, Congress has created new USDA, APHIS programs that benefit the nation’s farmers and ranchers. Programs include those related to animal health, feral swine, pests and diseases of concern, and plant health.

Section 12203(b) of the 2018 Farm Bill required APHIS to develop a list of pests and diseases that pose the most significant threat to U.S. agriculture. 
See related resource: Animal and Plant Diseases and Pests of Concern

Coastal marshes that have been invaded by feral hogs recover from disturbances up to three times slower than non-invaded marshes and are far less resilient to sea-level rise, extreme drought and other impacts of climate change, a new study led by scientists at Duke University and the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) finds. "Under normal circumstances, marshes can handle and recover from drought or sea level rise, given time, but there is no safety net in place for hog invasions," said Brian Silliman, Rachel Carson Distinguished Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke, who co-authored the study.