Overview

• The Invasive Species Council unveiled a tongue-in-cheek “squeal on pigs” awareness drive on June 25 to mobilize public reporting of feral hogs.
• Provincial alerts cite scattered incursions in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Thompson-Okanagan, Peace, Chilcotin and Kootenay regions but note no established herds.
• Many of the feral swine are believed to have escaped or been released from farms, creating an opportunity for rapid population growth if left unchecked.
• Invasive pigs pose a threat to native habitats, farmland and infrastructure and can spread diseases such as African swine fever.
• Alberta’s designation of wild boar as an agricultural pest and US estimates of $1.5 billion in annual damage highlight the economic stakes for BC if populations expand.