SREL Reprint #3749

Changes in wild pig (Sus scrofa) relative abundance, crop damage, and environmental impacts in response to control efforts

Joseph W. Treichler1,2, Kurt C. VerCauteren3, Charles R. Taylor1,2, and James C. Beasley1,2

1Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
2Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
3United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO, USA

Abstract:
BACKGROUND: As the population and range of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) continue to grow across North America, there has been an increase in environmental and economic damages caused by this invasive species, and control efforts to reduce damages have increased concomitantly. Despite the expanding impacts and costs associated with population control of wild pigs, the extent to which wild pig control reduces populations and diminishes environmental and agricultural damages are rarely quantified. The goal of this study is to quantify changes in wild pig relative abundance and subsequent changes in damages caused by invasive wild pigs in response to control.
RESULTS: Using a combination of wild pig population surveys, agricultural damage assessments, and environmental rooting surveys across 19 mixed forest-agricultural properties in South Carolina, USA, we quantified changes in wild pig relative abundance and associated damages over a 3-year period following implementation of a professional control program. Following implementation of control efforts, both the number of wild pig detections and estimated abundance decreased markedly. Within 24 months relative abundance was reduced by an average of ~70%, which resulted in a corresponding decline in environmental rooting damage by ~99%.
CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that sustained wild pig control efforts can substantially reduce wild pig relative abundance, which in turn resulted in a reduction in environmental rooting damage by wild pigs. Ultimately this study will help fill critical knowledge gaps regarding the efficacy of wild pig control programs and the effort needed to reduce impacts to native ecosystems, livestock, and crops.

Keywords: agricultural damage; corn; environmental damage; management; peanuts; rooting; Sus scrofa; wild pigs

SREL Reprint #3749

Treichler, J. W., K. C. VerCauteren, C. R. Taylor, and J. C. Beasley. 2023. Changes in wild pig (Sus scrofa) relative abundance, crop damage, and environmental impacts in response to control efforts. Pest Management Science 79(12): 4765-4773.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).