Rather than going it alone, Oklahoma is working with other states in the fight against wild hogs and the $1.5 billion in annual damage they do nationally to crops and property.
Scientists at Oklahoma State University and other land-grant institutions are collaborating, according to the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors, which recently highlighted the work as one of its multistate research efforts.
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Some 9 million feral hogs have been reported in 35 states, according to OSU Ag Research, citing information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
“They eat crops, dig up trees and devour food that other animals depend on,” the state agency said, and they’ve spread all over the Sooner State the past 40 years.
Why are wild hogs such a problem in Oklahoma and other states?
Why are feral hogs such a problem?
“Hogs can significantly damage native flora and fauna through their rooting behaviors and facilitate the spread of invasive plants, alter soil and water resources and limit regeneration of native plants,” OSU Ag Research said. “Habitat degradation by feral hogs can influence the diversity and occurrence of native wildlife communities.
“Feral hogs also carry and transmit diseases that pose significant risks to the health of many wild and domestic animals.
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They cause “a staggering amount of damage,” said Scott Senseman, associate vice president of OSU Ag Research, which provides fact sheets on wild hogs and other wildlife that can cause damage and disease. “A collaborative, multistate effort is likely the only way to mitigate the problem.”
Here are highlights of the research in several states:
What is Oklahoma State University’s goal in feral hog research?
OSU’s research focuses on wild hogs on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
Feral hogs were documented on the refuge 30 years ago, but “despite considerable control efforts and costs, feral hogs have persisted, and the ecosystem impacts have not been assessed,” OSU Ag Research said.
OSU, using remote game cameras at 99 sites, aims to estimate the hogs’ “space use patterns” and evaluate their effects on bison and the diversity of other animals on the refuge. Analysis of early results is under way. Sampling will be repeated this year from May through August and shared with natural resources managers and scientists.
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What are scientists in Arkansas doing in research into wild hogs?
According to OSU Ag Research:
- The Arkansas Forest Resources Center in Monticello, Arkansas, led a multistate survey of 4,500 landowners to gauge economic damage feral hogs cause to croplands, forestlands, pasturelands and livestock.
- The study estimated feral hog damages over five years across all of Arkansas and Louisiana as well as 38 counties in east Texas. According to the survey, private landowners’ average agricultural cropland damage in the past five years was $28 per acre in both Arkansas and Louisiana and approximately $25 per acre in east Texas.
- The most reported feral hog damage to crops involved corn, soybeans, rice, wheat, hay, silage and forage crops.
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What Louisiana is doing about the 900,000-plus wild hogs in the state?
According to OSU Ag Research:
- The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries estimates the feral hog population in the state to be more than 900,000. A Louisiana State University AgCenter survey estimated damages to commodity production at $66 million and other non-production losses at almost $25 million.
- The LSU AgCenter and Department of Chemistry are working on a bait-and-delivery system to help reduce the feral hog population. The soft baits, which are swallowed by the hogs, contain sodium nitrite, a common food additive in products like bacon, that is lethal to hogs.
- The ag center team plans to commercialize the bait system once they are satisfied with its performance. The product will then go through federal and state approval processes.
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South Carolina has a Wild Hog Task Force led by Clemson University
- The South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force was created to coordinate education, research and management efforts to reduce problems associated with wild hogs in the Palmetto state.
- The task force is comprised of 21 different state and federal agencies, agriculture and natural resources associations, and conservation groups led by Clemson University and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services.
- Clemson University supports the South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force to coordinate education, research and management programs to reduce damage caused by wild hogs in South Carolina. Future research will focus on effective methods to reduce wild hog damage and track damage in the state.
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Texas copes with wild hogs with research, teaching, and outreach
The Lone Star State has numerous agencies involved with feral hog research, including:
- AgriLife Extension provides information on current projects.
- Wildlife Services – Resolves conflicts between wildlife and human interests requiring wildlife damage management expertise.
- Texas AgriLife Extension Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences provides publications, activities, programs, and events related to wildlife and fisheries management in Texas.
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Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Real Estate with Richard Mize.
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