Members of the House Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development received a status update on Oklahoma’s feral hog population. Experts and those who deal with the feral hogs firsthand were in general agreement that the state would never rid itself of the scourge, but could control the population.
The Agriculture Department estimates Oklahoma has up to 1.5 million feral hogs in nearly every county. The largest populations are in southern Oklahoma.
Of course, one of the biggest fears agriculture producers have besides the destruction of crops is the threat of disease from feral hogs.
“Besides their destructive tendencies, feral swine are carriers of zoonotic diseases such as brucellosis and leptospirosis,” related Rep. Brian Renegar, who is a veterinarian and requested the study with Rep. Kevin Wallace.
Pseudorabies is another concern because it can infect cattle, sheep, goats and dogs while not a direct threat to humans. It is believed a third of Oklahoma’s feral hog population carries pseudorabies.
“Keeping wild hogs from infecting domestic herds with pseudorabies is ‘high on our priority list,’” Oklahoma Pork Council Executive Director Roy Lee Lindsey said. “Oklahoma ranks eighth in the nation in numbers of swine and fifth nationally in the number of sows ‘in our breeding herds.’ Approximately 100,000 head of hogs leave Oklahoma each week, en route to states such as Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Kansas and Missouri to be fattened for market.”
Oklahoma Feral Swine Control Association President Matt Napper told the committee that 9,860 hunters killed more than 30,000 feral hogs in the state last year. USDA hunters have eliminated about 8,200 wild hogs this year.
Research is underway on chemicals which could help with population control, but not harm other wild animals or livestock. While that area looks promising, hunting and trapping are still the most effective means of population control of feral hogs.
The committee also explored the possibility of the economic development opportunities.
“Oklahoma has 21 licensed sporting facilities where hunters pay to shoot wild hogs; the number of commercial operations has been capped by the State Board of Agriculture, he said. “We believe we have enough to meet our needs,” said Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Veterinarian Dr. Justin Roach.
However, others noted that the process of permitted and licensing the transportation and stocking of wild hogs on hunting preserves could possibly need to be updated.
