Little Piggy Went Wee

Alyssa Zopfi
4/15/2011
And This Little Piggy Went Wee Wee Where it Doesn’t Belong

When the word pig is mentioned an image of a pink snorting barnyard animal usually is the image that corresponds to it. Lately however a new image is composing itself, a dark hairy stocky beast of a menace. This is the type of animal that has called Wisconsin its home as well as at least 22 other states. They are an invasive exotic species that threatens farmlands as well as habitats of other species. These pigs are pests that need to be heavily managed before they get out of control like many other invasive species have done in the past.
According to an article by Kyle Lafond these animals are able to adapt to new environments very easily and what’s worse is they can reproduce rapidly. In this article it states that females can start breeding as young as 6 months old. Not only that but they can reproduce 2-4 litters per year of 4-10 piglets per litter when conditions are good. These statistics are frightening to think about. The more feral pigs the more habitat they require the more farmlands they destroy.
Not only are they destructive to farms but they also compete with other animals for food such as white tailed deer, grassland birds, and upland birds. Also according to the article they can destroy areas of wetland habitats that are crucial to migratory game birds. This is a destructive species that harms native species, farmlands, and habitats. There can’t be more reason why to get this population under control, but that would be a lie. Not only do they run up $800 million annually in damages to farm economy in the U.S but also they can carry several diseases. These diseases can be transferred to other wild animals, farm animals, and even humans.
What’s more interesting is how they came to be in Wisconsin. Lafond suggests three possibilities and surprise surprise all of them have to do with people releasing them. Whether it’s the pigs being released from game farmers, or released by hunters for sporting purposes, or even being released by bear hunters to train their dogs they all have that unifying theme of being placed by people. Although to hunters and game farms it may have seemed like a good idea it seems some things were overlooked, like how destructive they truly could be. The idea of humans releasing an exotic species into its non-native land is a little bit of history repeating itself which needs to be put to a stop, starting with feral pigs. Wisconsin still has a chance with what is reported a group of 130 animals mostly in the 50-mile radius. We can contain this problem, probably not easily but it definitely is possible. The invasive species is unprotected and can be hunted year round, as well as lacking bag or season limit restrictions. The WDNR supports the aggressive removal of these creatures so hunters act now and help save the farmlands, native species of deer and game birds as well as their habitats. It is indeed for our benefit to be rid of this species before it grows stronger and larger like it is very capable of.




Work Cited

LaFond, Kyle. "Wild Hogs in the Woods." Wisconsin Natural Resources 2005: Web. 14 Apr 2011. .