We tend to think of wild pigs as a Southern U.S. phenomenon, but California has its own share of swine, and they’re wreaking havoc on parts of the state.
Feral pigs have been found in every California county except San Francisco and Alpine. They’re the offspring of pigs imported by Spanish missionaries in the 1700s and wild boar that were brought to Carmel in the 1920s.
Their numbers are now exploding in Santa Clara, where wildlife officials are prohibited from killing them. That was a decision made by the Board of Supervisors in 2010, and it is now coming under criticism.
Dana Page, natural resource program coordinator for Santa Clara County Parks, is among those calling for a change in policy. Page is reaching out to land managers all over Santa Clara to get them on board with a coordinated effort to control the county’s swine.
To understand why it matters, consider the numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each year, feral pigs cause a minimum of $1.5 billion in damage. They can spread 20 different infectious diseases to humans and were responsible for 412 attacks on people in the United States between 1825 and 2012. In Santa Clara, Page says they’re contaminating rivers and reservoirs and killing tiger salamanders and red-legged frogs.
“It’s hard to sit back and watch the destruction,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
Unlike Santa Clara, pigs can be eradicated in Monterey. Yet the population is still growing rapidly.
“You’re talking exponential growth,” said Monterey County Parks Manager Bryan Flores.
They’re also causing trouble in Sonoma County and even in the City of Corona in Riverside.
Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) wants to open the state up to more pig hunting, but that may not be the answer either. In states where hog hunts are allowed, wild boar have become even more robust. The hunters have an incentive to keep the population up. They also move them around, further diversifying the population.
For now, residents can follow some simple advice to discourage boar activity on their property. That includes keeping all trash and food items secure. And of course, never approach a wild hog.