RareHawaii - Control of Pest Animals Outside Hawaii

PEST ANIMAL POLICY AND CONTROL OUTSIDE HAWAI'I

FERAL PIGS IN OTHER STATES

Florida Most management now focuses on controlling or eradicating hog populations. Private individuals may still introduce animals in enclosed areas for hunting. [From Control and Management of Wild Hogs in Florida, Giuliano and Tanner, http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW221]

Michigan “To help eliminate these pests, the DNR encourages hunters to take any legal opportunity to shoot feral swine . . . In states where feral swine have become established, they have caused crop damage, pose a serious threat to the health and welfare of the domestic swine, endanger humans, impact wildlife populations, and impact the environment by disrupting the ecosystem.” http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363-155439--,00.html

Missouri “Shoot em on sight.” Concentrated shooting and trapping efforts by state and federal employees, private landowners and recreational hunters. Feral hogs may be taken in any number throughout the year. During most of the year, no permit is required and any method (including baiting and the use of dogs) is allowed. http://mdc.mo.gov/landown/wild/nuisance/hogs/

Oregon Feral pigs legally classified as predatory animals that can be dealt with by landowners in several ways, including hunting and trapping. It is illegal for someone to "introduce" feral swine to an area by allowing pigs to run at-large. http://www.oregon.gov/OISC/docs/pdf/swine_ra.pdf

Pennsylvania In 2006, a Pennsylvania Feral Hog Task Force was formed that included the state and federal departments of agriculture, PennAg Industries Association, the Game Commission, Penn State, the Pennsylvania Audubon Society and the Pork Producers Council. http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=458&q=170957

Texas In 2005 the state legislature approved a $500,000 grant for a nonprofit research institute to study hog abatement. Beverly Boyd, of the Texas Department of Agriculture, said the agency estimates hogs are causing $50 million in agricultural damage each year.
Feral Hogs in Texas:
http://www.wildlife.tamu.edu/publications/B6149FeralHogs_low.pdf
East Texas Feral Hog Numbers Skyrocketed in Last Decade:
http://wildlife.tamu.edu/publications/news.pdf

Wisconsin The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has adopted the position that feral pigs are exotic, non-native wild animals that pose significant threats to both the environment and to agricultural operations. The Department promotes aggressive removal anywhere feral pigs are reported. http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/HUNT/Pig/Pig_Hunting.htm

USDA Invasive Species pages – feral pigs: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/wildboar.shtml

For alarming maps comparing feral pig distribution in the United States in 1982 and 2004, see pages 4 and 5 of “Disease Risks Associated With Increasing Feral Swine Numbers And Distribution In The United States” by Timothy Hutton (2006). Available onine (large Word file) at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Hutton_Pig_Paper_177657_7.doc

PIGS, GOATS, AND DEER IN AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE GALAPAGOS

Australian Government, Department of Environment and Heritage: In 1999 Australia passed the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Under this act the country lists Key Threatening Processes and prepares Threat Abatement Plans. The many reports available at their web site include:
• Predation, Habitat Degradation, Competition and Disease Transmission by Feral Pigs - effective 6 July 2001
• Draft Threat Abatement Plan for Predation, Habitat Degradation, Competition and Disease Transmission by Feral Pigs – 2003
• Threat Abatement Plan for Competition and Land Degradation by Feral Goats – 1999
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/tap.html

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation is preparing a series of control plans for introduced mammals. The latest plan, nearing completion, is for feral goats. The department’s web site states: “Experience in New Zealand and elsewhere has shown that, to be effective, animal pest control must be co-ordinated and focused, with clearly stated goals and objectives, methods for achieving objectives, and provisions for monitoring whether objectives are being met. This requires a high level of organisation and planning.” http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=33387

An Island Deer Eradication: http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/MultiPageDocumentTOC.aspx?id=39967

Ecuadorian Government Eradication of goats and pigs from various islands of the Galapagos began in the 1960s (at the same time, Hawaii was importing pronghorn antelope [1959] and introducing axis deer to more islands). Several islands are now completely free of goats and pigs, and more will be soon:

Galápagos Takes Aim at Alien Invaders – Jocelyn Kaiser.
Scientists are waging a two-pronged assault on the goats, rats, weeds, and other exotic species that threaten the fabled archipelago's flora and fauna. In one of the most ambitious attempts ever to combat invasive species, biologists and staff of the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galápagos National Park Service will use a combination of brute force, high-tech gadgetry, and cutting-edge science to wipe out some alien species, make a dent in other populations, and bolster controls to keep other exotics out. The scientists believe that eradicating the most troublesome species all at once is the only way to stop the destruction of the Galápagos.

Conservation Action in the Galapagos https://www.galapagos.org/pdf/Cruzetal2005.pdf



Rare Hawai‘i: Lagging Behind the Rest of the World in Pest Animal Policy, Islands Continue to Lose Quality of Life, Land, and Water (Note: If the format of this page looks strange, try another browser, like Firefox.)