Prairie wild pigs threaten to disperse to the United States

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Wild pigs live in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and represent a threat.

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Wild prairie pigs threaten to spread to U.S. states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana, whose jurisdictions are already taking steps to curb their invasion.

These animals that live in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are a threat, according to University of Saskatchewan professor Ryan Brook.

The latter explains that wild pigs are the most invasive animals on the planet and that they are an ecological disaster.

These pigs are generally a crossbreed that combines the survival skills of wild boars with the size and fertility of domestic pigs. Additionally, they are spreading uncontrolled.

Even though they have been roaming the continent for centuries, pigs are not native to x27;North America.

Canada's problem with wild boars dates back to the 1980s, when farmers were encouraged to raise wild boars, Ryan Brook explains.

Additionally, they eat everything, including crops and wild animals. However, they destroy land while searching for insects and crops.

These pigs can spread disease quickly and reproduce quickly. Additionally, when it comes to hunting, the success rate for hunters is between 2 and 3%.

In some states, hunting them is banned because it makes these animals more wary and nocturnal, making them difficult to catch.

Wild pigs caused a lot of damage to the United States. The damage to American crops is estimated at around $2.5 billion.

Ryan Brook, however, estimates that it is not not completely impossible to remedy the situation, because a few states have managed to eliminate them.

He emphasizes that the main thing is to have a system for rapid detection of the presence of wild pigs and to react quickly.

You have to be quick and use every tool in the toolbox, says Ryan Brook.

Ryan Brook and his fellow researchers documented 62,000 sightings in Canada. The animals have been spotted on both sides of the border, between Canada and North Dakota.

A sighting was also made in Manitoba at less than 18 miles from Minnesota. Minnesota Wildlife Services Director Gary Nohrenberg says that, to his knowledge, no pigs have made it to his state at this time.

This state is expected to present a report in February, with the aim of presenting the shortcomings of its management plan and new prevention measures.

The US department of Agriculture is using planes and drones to monitor the northern border.

No one should be surprised when pigs start crossing the border. The question is what will be done about it, says Ryan Brook.

He explains that Montana is the state that fights wild pigs most seriously.

According to USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, feral pigs have been reported in at least 35 states. He estimates the animal's population at about 6 million.

The program's deputy director, Mike Marlow, says the goal is to get rid of wild pigs in places where their population is small or emerging and, above all, to limit the damage.

According to him, the program has worked well in some States with small populations like Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin.

With information from the &x27; Associated Press