by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

No one knows for sure when swine were first brought to the New World, but it’s believed that Spanish explorers and settlers brought pigs as a food source. When some of these free-range pigs escaped, they became feral, and the phenomenon of the feral swine was born.

Through the years, these feral swine have moved into at least 35 states, including Arkansas. In the late 1990s, wild pigs were a minor problem in southern Arkansas, but ag scientist Dr. Greg Mathis began to warn colleagues that feral swine could become a serious problem in the decades to come. He was right.

There are now at least 200,000 feral swine roaming the Natural State, Dr. Becky McPeake told Talk Business & Politics. A professor and wildlife specialist for the University of Arkansas Agriculture Extension, McPeake said feral swine cause more than $41 million in damages in Arkansas annually, according to recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates. The hogs cause more than $2 billion damage a year nationwide.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/05/feral-swine-to-be-a-problem-in-state-for-the-foreseeable-future/