EXTIRPATION OF A RECENTLY ESTABLISHED FERAL PIG POPULATION IN KANSAS

Most feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are descendants of domestic swine that have gone wild and their reproduction is uncontrolled by man. A few populations may be descendants of European wild boar or crosses between wild boar and domestic swine. Disease control officials report that 23 states have established populations of feral pigs and the total feral pig population in the United States is probably in excess of 2 million animals. A population of feral pigs was documented in the fall of 1993 on the Fort Riley Military Installation in northeastern Kansas. Biologists from the Fort Riley Natural Resources Division and the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit assessed the situation and recommended that the pig population be eradicated because of the potential for disease, crop damage, erosion, competition for food with native wildlife and depredation on native wildlife. The goal of this management plan is to eradicate feral pigs on Fort Riley. We have integrated a variety of control techniques emphasizing the use of cage traps, snares, and possibly radio telemetry and aerial hunting