Local wildlife experts in Texas say feral hogs are the biggest wildlife management issue in the state and that will continue for the next 100 years, Valley Central News reports.
Dr. John Tomecek, an extension wildlife specialist says annually around 30 percent of the pig population is eradicated but added the way the pigs reproduce, that number needs to be closer to two-thirds, just to keep the population in check.
Annually the hogs cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
“In damages to the agriculture both crops and animals, properties, people lawns, golf courses runways, you name it damages, to health and human safety in the form of diseases they transmit a lot of damages to wildlife, the water, and the environment,” says Dr. Tomecek to Valley Central News.
Tomecek says feral hogs can contaminate food items and waterways with pathogens and diseases like Ecoli, which are distributed through the landscape via pigs’ feces.