When Department of Conservation wildlife biologists on the feral hog strike team tallied numbers for 2016, the result was a total of 5,358 feral hogs removed by the department, partner agencies and private landowners.
The number is a significant increase over 2015 when 3,649 feral hogs were removed.
Factors in the increase include the department’s “Report, don’t shoot” message to encourage trapping, banning hog hunting on conservation areas, and a strong public awareness campaign.
Southeast Missouri trapped 2,941 feral hogs, where the highest density of feral hogs occurs. The Ozark region trapped 1,293, and Southwest region trapped 1,006 hogs. St. Louis, Central and Kansas City regions all trapped fewer than 100 feral hogs each.
Alan Leary, Wildlife Management Coordinator and feral hog eradication leader, said although the goal is to eradicate feral hogs in the state, a more immediate goal is to keep the feral hog population from spreading to northern regions.
“We made significant progress in 2016,” said Leary. “The key to eradicating these destructive, invasive pests is cooperation with private landowners and partners in efforts to report hog sightings, continue trapping and deter hog hunting and the illegal release of hogs.”
In 2016, the department partnered with conservation groups, agriculture organizations, and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation to provide the state's feral hog strike team with more trapping equipment for use on both private and public land, and to fund public education efforts.
Communication efforts bolstered a campaign where the public heard from private landowners who suffered hog damage and were working with the Department of Conservation and USDA to eradicate feral hogs. Efforts also helped spread the message to “Report, don’t shoot” feral hogs.
“The majority of land in Missouri is privately owned, so it’s crucial that we engage the public, educate them on the dangers of feral hogs and engage them in our trapping efforts,” Leary said.
Landowners are learning it’s much easier to get rid of feral hogs if you trap the whole sounder, rather than allow hunting and only shooting one or two, he said. While hunting is effective for managing wildlife populations, feral hogs are not wildlife, and the goal is to remove them.
Killing feral hogs for sport hinders efforts to eradicate them.
“Some hunters intentionally release feral hogs in new areas to establish populations to hunt and hunters usually only shoot one or two hogs out of the group, while the rest scatter across the landscape and become more difficult to catch,” Leary said. “Hunting actually compounds the problem.”
While trapping is an effective method for eradicating feral hogs, when it comes to the remaining few of a sounder they are difficult to eliminate.
“It’s vital we continue our efforts and get the feral hog population under control before it spreads any farther,” Leary said.
Feral hogs are a serious threat to fish, forests and wildlife as well as agricultural resources. Economic losses resulting from feral hog damage in the U.S. is estimated at greater than $1.5 billion per year.
Feral hogs have expanded their range in the U.S. from 17 to 38 states over the past 30 years. Populations grow rapidly because feral hogs can breed any time of year and produce two litters of one to seven piglets every 12 to 15 months. Feral hogs are known to carry diseases such as swine brucellosis, pseudorabies, trichinosis and leptospirosis which are threats to agriculture and human health.
Missouri residents can report feral hog sightings or damage online at mdc.mo.gov/feralhog.