USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and eight other government agencies have announced a nationally coordinated program to control “damage and risks to agriculture, animal health, human health, property and cultural and natural resources” brought about by feral swine, according to Agri-Pulse.
There are 6 million of the animals in the United States, APHIS says. Texas sources estimate more than 2 million in the Lone Star State alone.
Texas farmers and ranchers are no strangers to the damages the swine cause, including rooting and trampling of fields and pastures. Texas Farm Bureau’s Gene Richardson told Agri-Pulse that action is needed now to fight the invasive species.
“We’d like to just throw the kitchen sink at it if we can,” Richardson said, adding that feral hogs do “millions of dollars in damage” in Texas, one of the states hit hardest by the animals.
According to Agri-Pulse, the program’s goals include eliminating feral swine from two states every 5 years and to stop the increase in damage from feral swine within 10 years.