Sask. puts moratorium on wild boar farms, but expert says it might already be too late
CBC
Saskatchewan is putting a moratorium on wild boar farms starting next year, in a bid to regulate the growing population of feral swine in the province.
But a University of Saskatchewan expert says the moratorium and the related regulations come at least 20 years too late.
The province says existing farms have until Jan. 1, 2025, to apply for a licence.
Jason Pollock, CEO of Livestock Services of Saskatchewan (LSS), said the new rules will help them streamline the process of regulating boars.
"The updated regulations, focused on clarity and congruency, will allow LSS to communicate more clearly with its stakeholders as well as guide our support and enforcement services to the industry in a more straightforward manner," he said in a news release.
New regulations include that existing farms will require regular inspections, have to put up fencing, report any escapes and maintain records.
Ryan Brook, a wildlife researcher at the University of Saskatchewan and director of the Canadian Wild Pig Research Project, said he supports any efforts to control the burgeoning numbers of boars, but these directives hardly help.
He said boars have been escaping farms during the last four decades.
The pigs are known to be incredibly destructive, as they damage crops, spread diseases and contaminate water sources. In the U.S. it is estimated that the animals cause $2.5 billion US of damage each year.
"The genie got out of the bottle during the time that Cheers was a popular TV show," Brook said.
Brook said the problem has been exacerbated by the development of a new "super pig" species. He said wild boars were crossbred with pink domestic pigs on purpose to make a longer and overall bigger animal with a supercharged reproductive rate.
Pink domestic pigs have also escaped from hog barns and currently live in the wild, where they also breed with wild boar, Brook said.
"These hybrid super pigs are highly invasive and are now permanently established in Saskatchewan. The opportunity for eradication is now long past," he said.
Currently, there are 15 wild boar farms in the province that the Ministry of Agriculture is aware of, the ministry said in an email.