From today’s perspective, it is difficult to imagine the ethical system that could justify De Soto’s subsequent actions. For four years his force wandered through what are now Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana, looking for gold and wrecking most everything it touched… But the worst thing he did, some researchers say, was entirely without malice – he brought pigs.”
― Charles C. Mann, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Boars, hogs, swine. Piggies. Porkers. Whatever you want to call them, they’re big business. The number of hogs slaughtered every year is approximately 118 million and the value of hog and pig farming in the U.S. amounts to some $6.5 billion. The value per head is about $92. Most Americans are probably somewhat aware of these amounts. Or at least that we do a whole lot of pig farming.
Lesser known is the economic cost imposed by pigs that, over the centuries since the arrival of the Spanish, have gotten loose and now belong to that most-ominous of groups known by simply one word – “feral.” The extension service at Mississippi State University has said that a conservative estimate of the cost of feral pig damage to agriculture and the environment is approximately $1.5 billion every year.
They are prodigious breeders, capable of producing litters twice a year with an average of four to six piglets per litter. Few North American predators are capable of taking down a large, healthy adult feral hog. They are omnivorous, capable of eating nearly anything. Feral pigs cause damage in nearly every way imaginable. Animals that make their homes on the ground, that for thousands of years had few natural predators in North America, find their homes rummaged or eggs eaten by pigs. Ground-nesting birds, such as northern bobwhites or wild turkeys, have seen declining numbers for decades thanks in part from wild hogs eating their eggs.
They also are very disruptive to farmland, which is quite productive habitat for them and can render many piglets. They root up pastures and rangeland, consume native vegetation and all those free-roaming pigs, and the waste that comes from them, has negative effects on water quality.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resource Division is hosting workshops over the next couple months to help Georgians understand this impact and to help manage it. These workshops will include information about wild pig biology, regulations and laws, effective control techniques and more. Speakers include representatives from GA Wildlife Resources Division, University of Georgia, GA Dept of Agriculture, GA Association of Conservation Districts, and USDA Wildlife Services. There will also be a Q&A session following presentations. Lunch will also be provided for attendees.
Demonstrating the ubiquitous nature and geographic adaptability of the feral hog, the four workshops are being held in geographically disbursed cities – Blackshear, in the far southeastern corner, on the 11th, Dawsonville, in north Georgia, on the 18th, Quitman, about as far south as you can go, on January 7th, and Hawkinsville, in central Georgia near Macon, on January 29th.
