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OREGON TWP — A wild pig that has been plaguing the area around the intersection of Smith Hill Road and Fox Hill Road was brought down by a resident of the area this weekend, confirms Pa Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer Jim McCarthy.
“I’m pretty sure this was a feral hog (that escaped a farm),” McCarthy says, “We’ve been getting reports of a wild pig in that area since November. We’re not sure where it came from. There were no tags or other markings on it.”
McCarthy said a resident shot the approximately 200 pound hog Saturday after he said it had been foraging within an estimated one square mile area for three months or more.
“There are no signs the hog ever bred or gave birth,” McCarthy said, an important piece of information since feral swine can wreak havoc on native animal populations.
“These things can have a huge negative impact on the environment. They can dig ruts a foot deep and they’ll eat the other wildlife out of house and home. Plus, they can carry dangerous diseases such as pseudorabies and swine brucellosis. But just for safety reasons, you just don’t need these things running around.”
As the fifth-largest pork producing state, wild pigs carrying diseases like pseudorabies and brucellosis could ravage Pennsylvania’s domesticated swine population, McCarthy explained, leading to huge economic losses.
But these diseases could also infect other species, including humans, in the case of brucellosis.
According to Wikipedia, populations of wild boar or feral hogs in the U.S. commonly contract and spread the Pseudorabies virus throughout their range. (Note: The virus is not related to rabies.) Mortality is highest in young piglets. Pregnant sows often abort when infected. Otherwise healthy male adults (boars) are typically latent carriers, which means they harbor and transmit the virus without displaying symptoms or suffering disability.
Pseudorabies has also been reported in other mammals, including brown bears, black bears, Florida panther, raccoons, coyotes, and whitetail deer. In most cases, contact with pigs or pig products was either known or suspected. Outbreaks in farm fur species in Europe (mink and foxes) have been associated with feeding infected pig products. Many other species can be experimentally infected, but humans are not susceptible.
Pseudorabies is highly contagious. In most cases, this disease is transmitted through nose-to-nose contact. Nose-to-nose contact is the most common type of transmission because Pseudorabies is mostly present in nasal and oral areas. This disease can wipe out entire herds.
OREGON TWP — A wild pig that has been plaguing the area around the intersection of Smith Hill Road and Fox Hill Road was brought down by a resident of the area this weekend, confirms Pa Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer Jim McCarthy.
“I’m pretty sure this was a feral hog (that escaped a farm),” McCarthy says, “We’ve been getting reports of a wild pig in that area since November. We’re not sure where it came from. There were no tags or other markings on it.”
McCarthy said a resident shot the approximately 200 pound hog Saturday after he said it had been foraging within an estimated one square mile area for three months or more.
“There are no signs the hog ever bred or gave birth,” McCarthy said, an important piece of information since feral swine can wreak havoc on native animal populations.
“These things can have a huge negative impact on the environment. They can dig ruts a foot deep and they’ll eat the other wildlife out of house and home. Plus, they can carry dangerous diseases such as pseudorabies and swine brucellosis. But just for safety reasons, you just don’t need these things running around.”
As the fifth-largest pork producing state, wild pigs carrying diseases like pseudorabies and brucellosis could ravage Pennsylvania’s domesticated swine population, McCarthy explained, leading to huge economic losses.
But these diseases could also infect other species, including humans, in the case of brucellosis.
According to Wikipedia, populations of wild boar or feral hogs in the U.S. commonly contract and spread the Pseudorabies virus throughout their range. (Note: The virus is not related to rabies.) Mortality is highest in young piglets. Pregnant sows often abort when infected. Otherwise healthy male adults (boars) are typically latent carriers, which means they harbor and transmit the virus without displaying symptoms or suffering disability.
Pseudorabies has also been reported in other mammals, including brown bears, black bears, Florida panther, raccoons, coyotes, and whitetail deer. In most cases, contact with pigs or pig products was either known or suspected. Outbreaks in farm fur species in Europe (mink and foxes) have been associated with feeding infected pig products. Many other species can be experimentally infected, but humans are not susceptible.
Pseudorabies is highly contagious. In most cases, this disease is transmitted through nose-to-nose contact. Nose-to-nose contact is the most common type of transmission because Pseudorabies is mostly present in nasal and oral areas. This disease can wipe out entire herds.
Since brucellosis threatens the food supply and can cause undulant fever in humans, which produces fevers, sweating, weakness, anemia, headaches, depression and muscular and bodily pain, Brucella suis and other Brucella species (B. melitensis, B. abortis, B. ovis, B. canis) are recognized as potential agricultural, civilian and military bioterrorism agents.
McCarthy says he took blood samples, the head and the tonsils from the hog shot in Oregon Township which will be sent to Harrisburg for study by the Pa. Department of Agriculture. The rest of the pig’s remains now belong to the property owner that shot it, though McCarthy says he would hope the homeowner refrains from eating it until tests come back clearing it of disease.
In eight years in Wayne County, McCarthy says this is the first wild pig he has come across, but recommends anyone coming into contact with one call 911 and contact the Game Commission, rather than taking matters into their own hands as this homeowner did.
