Wild hog captures up thanks to Squeal on Pigs

A population-control group caught hundreds of wild pigs in Manitoba last year in its attempt to eradicate the pest animal.

Squeal on Pigs Manitoba coordinator Wayne Lees said that 204 pigs were caught and removed from Manitoba last year using traps, thermal drones and collaboration with property owners. The number of captures increased significantly year-over-year as the group improved its understanding of the wild animal.

“We’re starting to zero in,” Lees said in a phone call with the Sun. “We’ve been able to increase the number of pigs trapped every year, and I think that’s a testament to a couple things.”

Lees said members have learned about where pigs reproduce, how they behave and what patterns work best to intercept them. The group caught roughly 40 per cent more pigs last year, equal to an additional 77 pigs, over the year before.

The results mark the third year in a row that saw increased wild pig captures.

Locked-on to their next effort, Lees said Squeal on Pigs will focus around the Spruce Woods Provincial Park area during the upcoming year. He noted that reproduction takes place in the area and that researchers have tallied the highest number of sightings and confirmed instances of pig activity in that part of Westman.

“As we move ahead we are really going to get at those breeding populations,” said Lees. “The big one really is Spruce Woods.”

The group operates between 25 and 30 traps at all times, along with 100 cameras, Lees said. Field workers typically follow-up on sightings or trail camera footage, and then launch thermal drones to locate the wild animals.

The drones spot nearby pigs’ warm bodies, and workers use that information to lay traps in areas that have been identified as places that the pigs feed or take shelter.

Heading into this last winter, the group’s field operations manager Devon Baete told the Sun thermal drones were “key.” The group equipped all four of its field workers with the technology, and Lees said it has been part of noteworthy increases in captures.

The group collaborates with local landowners, as well as partners at the provincial and federal level to access land and lay traps. Lees told the Sun that Squeal on Pigs has built great working relationships with these private citizens and governments during the recent season — relationships that he expects will continue.

Wild boars are considered a threat by many different stakeholders. Parks suffer when boars dig up land and pollute water bodies. Farmers consider the pigs a pest as the animal tears up pastures and eats crops.

Ryan Brook, a professor at University of Saskatchewan who has researched wild pigs for more than a decade, told the Sun last year that pigs flourish because they reproduce year-round and generally accept nearly anything as food. In his opinion, the established pig population across the prairies would be difficult, if not impossible to eradicate.

Lees disagrees and said that eradication of the invasive porkers is possible with consistent, dedicated work and ongoing monitoring. He thinks there are roughly 1,000 wild pigs in the province of Manitoba, and it would take roughly 10 years to remove pigs from the countryside. He added that Manitoba is in a better position than Saskatchewan and Alberta when it comes to the pest pigs.

Ironically, hunting can pose a risk to eradication efforts. Lees and Brook agree that hunting has a low success rate and just spreads the pigs around. Instead, traps are favoured — with recent data from Squeal on Pigs showing that traps removed more than 80 per cent of pigs at first encounter. Lees said hunting had about a 12 per cent removal rate in the same scenario.

Squeal on Pigs Manitoba has five people working with the group on a permanent basis, with three additional seasonal workers thanks to support from governments and stakeholders.

Since beginning its battle against the pigs, the group has caught more than 100 pigs each year. Moving forward, Squeal on Pigs wants the wild board to be declared as an invasive species and putting a pause on recreational hunting and baiting of the pigs.

Squeal on Pigs Manitoba plans to release its annual report next month. The report will include details such as the age of the pigs captured, the sex of the pigs, and areas where sightings took place.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com