Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for
Date of this Version
2007
Abstract
This issue of Human-Wildlife Conflicts focuses on the management of feral hogs (Sus scrofa). As this exotic species has become more numerous and has expanded its range in North America, its adverse impacts on both our nation’s agriculture and environment are becoming more apparent and alarming. How best to manage feral hogs has become one of the most vexing questions for wildlife agencies today, owing to society’s mixed attitudes towards feral hogs (Rollins et al. 2007). Environmentalists and farmers want feral hogs eradicated. Others, especially those who enjoy hunting them, are rooting (pun intended) for the continued expansion of hog populations across North America (Sin 2007). Hence, any decision about how best to manage feral hogs will be controversial. Furthermore, feral hogs, with their high reproductive rate and secretive nature, have already become so numerous that many state wildlife agencies no longer have the ability to control their numbers, even if they wanted to do so.
Comments
Published in Human-Wildlife Conflicts Volume 1, Number 2, Pages 129–131, Fall 2007. Published and copyright by the Jack H. Berryman Institute. http://www.berrymaninstitute.org/journal/index.html