Thread by @laurby

MORE for you on the threat of wild pigs (aka boars / feral hogs) to #yeg I didn't have space for.

1. Re: idea 'predators will take care of it': here's a pig hanging out with a wolf captured on a trail camera in Alberta

“You cannot barbecue your way out of this problem": Mike Bodenchuk, USDA.

Hunting pigs for the foodbank was tried in one Texas city. But cities that try to make it into an asset instead of full eradication failed, he said. #yeg #yegcc

📸 Barrhead trail cam

“Trap them if you must, shoot them if you can, kill them before they get inside the city of Edmonton": Bodenchuk.

📸 Some wild pigs caught in one of the govt's traps Alberta #yeg

BTW this thread accompanies my story out last night ... things I didn't have space for:

"'Full hog': Edmonton could become first Canadian city with permanent wild pigs if city is unprepared, expert warns" #Yeg

There's still more...
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new…

When I first heard about feral hogs I laughed. I told Mike Bodenchuk others may have that reaction too since it's bizarre.

"We thought it was a joke in the 1970s too. We thought we could control it with guns and good ole’ boys, and it led to a giant disaster."

What about a bounty like Alberta used to have?

Bodenchuck discourages it.

Perry Abramenko said in 2020 to the Alberta Invasive Species Council it was useful for surveillance, helped them to get reports & find out where they were, but ineffective in eradicating them.

How many are there in Alberta?

As of 2020, hundreds if not thousands, but it's hard to know, but they've been found in 24 rural municipal districts.

As of May 2020 there were 13 wild boar farms in Alberta, Abramenko said in that presentation.

There seems to be an overlap when you look at where most of the wild pig sightings are and board farms.

Ryan Brook (U Sask expert) says Alberta's pig strategy is pretty good. The issue is that cities also need to make plans and be prepared so when they show up they can act quickly.

AB uses traps like this to capture a whole sounder, - Brook approves.

Randomly hunting them is *not* effective, says Brook.

Pigs are smart -- if you kill some but not the entire group, they learn how to hide, become nocturnal. Then they're even harder to track.

Here's some pig tracks.

Brook says shooting them from a helicopter is effective but it's also expensive.

Here's an image of pigs taken from one of the government's drones in Alberta (forget the specific location).

Brook said he's not aware of any cities that have specific plans for pigs, but Edmonton should have one as it or Saskatoon he expects will be the first cities in the country to have them.

Lastly, the movie Don't Look Up struck a chord with Brook — he says some governments laughed in his face when he warned them.

“Obviously a planet-killing comet is a bit dramatic to compare to wild pigs, but at the same time this is a massive crisis."

-30-

Oh, also, all of these images come from a 2020 presentation from Perry Abramenko (AB gov) to the Alberta Invasive Species Council.

Also, there's info on RATS. Watch here if you like.

Good question and yes. Ryan Brook has a map of Alberta pigs here: facebook.com/WildPigResearc…

https://twitter.com/EMB428/status/1500615738922393601?s=20&t=9v6O4mfl8EE6bK_j6xDrLw

Also I looked into this after someone pointed out they have been seen in the river valley before, and it's true!

https://twitter.com/laurby/status/1500625556668178432?s=20&t=9v6O4mfl8EE6bK_j6xDrLw

Ah! Thank you @rhyscourtman for reminding me about how some use dogs to track them...

This is something Alberta has tried according to the 2020 presentation noted above.

They trained tracking dogs to smell for wild pigs as well. Here they are at work. #yeg

Whoops correction

https://twitter.com/RyanKBrook/status/1500702558855196675