The northern US states of Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana are taking action to prevent the invasion of so-called “super pigs” from Canada. There arose crossbreeding between wild boars from Europe, which have good survival skills, and large domestic pigs.
Ryan Brock, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, describes it as an “environmental drama.” He describes the “super pigs” as “one of the most invasive species in the world.”
Not only do wild boars have the survival instinct of European species, they also have the reproductive drive and size of Canadian boars. This has made it almost impossible to monitor pig numbers.
“Even if you kill 65% of the population every year, the species will continue to grow,” Brock says. AP News. He and other scientists estimate that there are now at least 62,000 of these “super pigs” living in the wild.
Some of the animals were spotted 17 miles from the Canadian border with Minnesota. The USDA has increased the number of drone surveillance and inspection flights along the border with Canada.
Because of their size and appetite, “super pigs” can cause a lot of damage. In the United States, wild pigs annually cause approximately €2.3 billion in crop damage.
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Arnhem kiest voor historische methode en zet varkens in tegen Amerikaanse eik
