7 Story Idea? Contact Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Pork | June 2024 SQUEAL ON PIGS countries met in Ottawa to share their expertise and generate ideas for dealing with wild pigs and the threat of ASF. Together, they crafted a framework around international collaboration on preparedness planning, improved biosecurity, business continuity, and coordinated risk communications. Frequent fliers? “When we look at how ASF has been moving in Eastern Europe, there are two main routes of transmission,” says Dr. Egan Brockhoff, veterinary counsellor for the Canadian Pork Council (CPC). “One is between commercial herds, and the other is from wild pigs to those herds. Right now, for the latter to happen in Canada, wild pigs would have to get on a plane and fly here, which seems unlikely. But given the stakes, and the other damage wrought by wild pigs, we have to take them seriously.” Complicating the problem further is that wild pigs are notoriously hard to find, contain and control, and even harder to eradicate. With that in mind, some provinces looked south for a solution and found it in the Squeal on Pigs! campaign implemented in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The program uses an Early Detection Rapid Response approach where the public can report sightings to a phone line and direct organizers to their location. “The concept was fantastic, so Canada began introducing it at the provincial level with support from the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), provincial pork boards and provincial governments,” says Brockhoff. “It is a really useful tool to pinpoint wild pig locations in a region and work on containing and eradicating them.” Alberta was the first province to implement a Squeal on Pigs! campaign in 2020. The truth is out there “Awareness underpins everything, so it’s very important that the public knows wild pigs are out there and the damage they can cause to commercial pigs and crops. Our provincial control effort has been very successful, as reports of these intruders have nearly doubled since it began,” says Megan Evans, executive director of the Alberta Invasive Species Council. The Alberta approach is a shining example of collaboration, including Alberta Pork, the Government of Alberta, the University of Alberta, University of Calgary (U of C), King’s College and Elk Island National Park. “We hired a couple of eradication specialists and engaged landowners and municipalities on the best way to trap wild boars (Alberta uses “wild boars” instead of “wild pigs” in keeping with provincial legislation),” says Charlotte Shipp, industry programs manager with Alberta Pork. “Thus far we have captured 409 wild boars, and the U of C is working to give us a sense of the current picture.” Alberta Pork recently worked with the Province to secure more funding for an eradication method that can be easily scaled up. They are looking at different types of traps and technology, and placing cameras to track the local population of wild boars and gauge the impact of eradication efforts. The organization is also working through the U of C to provide memory cards to commercial producers so they can take images of any sightings and send them in. “The program is only as good as the human witness reports, so we want to facilitate reporting as much as possible,” says Shipp. Anyone spotting a wild boar is encouraged to call 310-FARMS or email wildboar@gov.ab.ca. Alberta Pork follows up on every report and engages with witnesses to understand exactly what they saw and where. Ready, aim, shoot! (with a camera) In Manitoba, the Squeal on Pigs! movement began in 2022 with funding from the Manitoba Pork Council, the Manitoba government and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). “We’ve pulled together a team of four, including three part-time field technicians and a field manager,” explains Dr. Wayne Lees, a veterinarian and coordinator of Squeal on Pigs! Manitoba. Via a large-scale media campaign, the program blanketed Manitoba with print and radio ads to raise public awareness of wild pigs and the multitude of problems they pose. “Apart from damaging the landscape and threatening commercial herds with a host of diseases, they also get into stored feed, eat foods like acorns that other animals rely on, and consume ground-nesting birds,” says Lees. “I even saw a video where they carried off a deer fawn, so it’s clear they will eat almost anything.” As in Alberta, the program encourages public reports of wild pigs through the website www.squealonpigsmb.org or the toll-free number 1-833-SPOT-PIG. That triggers a process in which Squeal on Pigs! Manitoba contacts landowners in the vicinity and sets up a baiting area with a trail camera. If wild pigs show up on the camera, organizers set a trap with the goal of capturing the entire herd. “We really engage landowners in our efforts by giving them access to our cameras on their cellphones,” says Charlotte Shipp Megan Evans Egan Brockhoff Wayne Lees
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