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1
Hoque, Md Monirul, Folasade Adekanmbi, Subarna Barua, Kh Shamsur Rahman, Virginia Aida, Brian Anderson, Anil Poudel, et al. "Peptide ELISA and FRET-qPCR Identified a Significantly Higher Prevalence of Chlamydia suis in Domestic Pigs Than in Feral Swine from the State of Alabama, USA." Pathogens 10, no. 1 (December 25, 2020): 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10010011.
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Chlamydia suis is an important, highly prevalent, and diverse obligate intracellular pathogen infecting pigs. In order to investigate the prevalence and diversity of C. suis in the U.S., 276 whole blood samples from feral swine were collected as well as 109 fecal swabs and 60 whole blood samples from domestic pigs. C. suis-specific peptide ELISA identified anti-C. suis antibodies in 13.0% of the blood of feral swine (26/276) and 80.0% of the domestic pigs (48/60). FRET-qPCR and DNA sequencing found C. suis DNA in 99.1% of the fecal swabs (108/109) and 21.7% of the whole blood (13/60) of the domestic pigs, but not in any of the assayed blood samples (0/267) in feral swine. Phylogenetic comparison of partial C. suis ompA gene sequences and C. suis-specific multilocus sequencing typing (MLST) revealed significant genetic diversity of the C. suis identified in this study. Highly genetically diverse C. suis strains are prevalent in domestic pigs in the USA. As crowding strongly enhances the frequency and intensity of highly prevalent Chlamydia infections in animals, less population density in feral swine than in domestic pigs may explain the significantly lower C. suis prevalence in feral swine. A future study is warranted to obtain C. suis DNA from feral swine to perform genetic diversity of C. suis between commercial and feral pigs.
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Wishart, Jason, Steven Lapidge, Michael Braysher, Stephen D. Sarre, and Jim Hone. "Observations on effects of feral pig (Sus scrofa) age and sex on diet." Wildlife Research 42, no. 6 (2015): 470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr15044.
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Context Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are a destructive invasive species that cause damage to ecologically sensitive areas. Management of biodiversity and of feral pigs assumes the diet of pigs of different ages and sexes are similar. Aims We aimed to investigate effects of feral pig age and sex on broad feral pig diet to identify potential at-risk native wildlife species so as to improve biodiversity and feral pig management. Methods Diet was determined by macroscopic analysis of the stomach content of 58 aerially shot feral pigs of mixed ages and sexes. The study occurred in the Macquarie Marshes, New South Wales, a Ramsar wetland of international significance. Results Feral pigs were largely herbivorous, with vegetable matter being found in all stomachs and contributing to a majority of the food material that was present in each stomach, by volume. Adult feral pigs had significantly more grasses and crop material in their stomachs than juveniles, while juveniles had significantly more forbs in their stomachs than adult feral pigs. Vertebrate prey items included frogs, lizard and snake, but no threatened wildlife species. Conclusions Juvenile and adult feral pigs differed in their diet, especially with regards to plant material, which has not been reported previously. There was, however, no difference in the consumption of vertebrate wildlife species between juvenile and adult, or male and female feral pigs. Slow-moving, nocturnal amphibians and reptiles were the most common vertebrate item recorded. Implications Biodiversity and feral pig management should recognise plant diet differences between demographic segments of the feral pig population. Further research is recommended to determine if diet differences also occur for threatened wildlife species, which will require more intensive nocturnal sampling.
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Palmer, Jenny. "Fighting Feral Pigs." Australian Veterinary Journal 82, no. 5 (May 2004): 256. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2004.tb12693.x.
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Dexter, N. "The Effect of an Intensive Shooting Exercise From a Helicopter on the Behaviour of Surviving Feral Pigs." Wildlife Research 23, no. 4 (1996): 435. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9960435.
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The hypothesis that disturbance from a shooting exercise using a helicopter will influence the behaviour of surviving feral pigs, Sus scrofa, was tested on a population of radio-collared feral pigs in north-western New South Wales. No significant differences existed in hourly distance moved by pigs, diel variation in distance moved by pigs, or home-range size of pigs, between a radio-tracking session conducted immediately before a shooting exercise from a helicopter and a radio-tracking session conducted during and after the exercise. The position of the home ranges of feral pigs did not appear to be affected by the shooting exercise, although several radio-collared feral pigs moved into and out of the study area between tracking sessions. Overall, the results suggest that the disturbance caused by shooting has little effect on the behaviour of surviving feral pigs.
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Cowled, Brendan D., Fiona Giannini, Sam D. Beckett, Andrew Woolnough, Simon Barry, Lucy Randall, and Graeme Garner. "Feral pigs: predicting future distributions." Wildlife Research 36, no. 3 (2009): 242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr08115.
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Feral pig populations are expanding in many regions of the world following historically recent introductions. Populations are controlled to reduce damage to agriculture and the environment, and are also a recreational hunting resource. Knowledge of the area over which feral pigs may expand in the future could be used regionally to assist biosecurity planning, control efforts and the protection of biodiversity assets. The present study sought to estimate the future distribution of a recently introduced, expanding feral pig population in the remote Kimberley region of north-western Australia. An existing survey of feral pig distributions was enhanced and remote-sensing and weather data, reflecting or correlated with factors that may affect feral pig distributions, were collated and analysed. Relationships between feral pig distributions and these data were identified by using a generalised additive modelling approach. By the use of the model, the distribution of favourable habitat was estimated across the study region (89 125 km2). The potential future distribution of feral pigs in the Kimberley was then estimated, assuming only natural dispersal of feral pigs from areas of known feral pig status (cf. hunter-assisted movements or escape of domestic pigs). The modelling suggests that feral pigs could expand their distribution by realistic natural dispersal in the future (to 61 950 km2). This expansion possibility contains several strategically important areas (such as sea ports and biologically significant wetlands). This approach has the potential to improve biosecurity planning for the containment of the feral pig in the Kimberley and may have utility for other recently introduced invasive species in other regions. These results may also be used to improve pest-management programmes and contingency planning for exotic-disease incursions.
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Poudel, Anil, Md Monirul Hoque, Steven Madere, Sara Bolds, Stuart Price, Subarna Barua, Folasade Adekanmbi, et al. "Molecular and Serological Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Feral Pigs (Sus scrofa) and their Habitats in Alabama, USA." Pathogens 9, no. 10 (October 20, 2020): 857. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9100857.
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Leptospirosis is a widespread zoonosis and has been recognized as a re-emerging infectious disease in humans and a variety of wild and domestic animal species. In order to understand the prevalence and diversity of Leptospira spp. in feral pig populations of Alabama, we trapped 315 feral pigs in Bullock County east-central Alabama, and collected 97 environmental samples from riparian areas in Bullock County and Macon County east-central Alabama. Two previously published PCRs followed by DNA sequencing and BLASTn were performed to identify pathogenic Leptospira species in the kidney of feral pigs (3.2%, 10/315) as well as environmental samples collected from the habitats of feral pigs (2.1%, 2/97), but not in the whole blood samples (n = 276) or spleen (n = 51). An ELISA determined that 44.2% of serum samples (122/276) were antibody-positive for Leptospira. The identification of two pathogenic Leptospira species from environmental samples and the high sero-positivity in feral pigs suggests potential pathogen shedding from feral pigs to environments, and to humans and domestic animals. In order to better understand the risk to human health associated with feral swine presence, further studies are warranted to explore the interrelationship between Leptospira spp. shedding in the urine of feral pigs and bacterial culture to explore pathogenicity. Multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST) and microscopic agglutination tests (MAT) should be performed in future studies to make a definite determination of pathogenic Leptospira in feral pigs in Alabama.
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Cançado, P. H. D., J. L. H. Faccini, H. M. Herrera, L. E. R. Tavares, G. M. Mourão, E. M. Piranda, R. C. S. Paes, et al. "Host-Parasite Relationship of Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae and Argasidae) and Feral Pigs (Sus scrofa) in the Nhecolândia Region of the Pantanal Wetlands in Mato Grosso do Sul." ISRN Parasitology 2013 (May 20, 2013): 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2013/610262.
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Feral pigs (S. scrofa) were introduced to the Pantanal region around 200 years ago and the population appears to be in expansion. Its eradication is considered to be impossible. The population of feral pigs in the Pantanal wetlands is currently estimated at one million. Two scientific excursions were organized. The first was conducted during the dry season, when 21 feral pigs were captured and the second was during the wet season, when 23 feral pigs were captured. Ticks were collected and the oviposition and hatching process were studied to confirm the biological success of each tick species. Three tick species were found to be feeding on feral pigs: Amblyomma cajennense, A. parvum, and Ornithodoros rostratus. During the dry season, 178 adult A. cajennense were collected, contrasting with 127 A. cajennense specimens in the wet season. This suggests that the seasonality of these ticks in the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands could be different from other regions. The results indicate that A. parvum and A. cajennense are biologically successful parasites in relation to feral pigs. A. cajennense appears to have adapted to this tick-host relationship, as well as the areas where feral pigs are abundant, and could play a role in the amplification of this tick population.
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Cowled, Brendan D., Eddie Gifford, Michelle Smith, Linton Staples, and Steven J. Lapidge. "Efficacy of manufactured PIGOUT® baits for localised control of feral pigs in the semi-arid Queensland rangelands." Wildlife Research 33, no. 5 (2006): 427. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr05083.
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Conservative population declines of 73% were recorded in three independent feral pig populations in Welford National Park, Queensland, when PIGOUT® baits containing 72 mg of sodium fluoroacetate were used in a baiting program following prefeeding. Declines were measured using a prebaiting population census with remote cameras, followed by carcass recovery. The knockdown of susceptible feral pigs may have been higher than this, since any carcasses not recovered reduced the recorded efficacy. In addition, feral pigs know to have left the baiting area after trapping and telemetry-tagging, and subsequently not exposed to toxic baits, were included in the analysis. The use of remote cameras and carcass recovery appears to be a relatively accurate means of recording localised declines in feral pig populations. This method is applicable only when carcass recovery is possible, such as in open areas in the semi-arid rangelands. A decline of 86% of radio-tagged feral pigs attending bait stations was also recorded. Camera observations revealed no non-target consumption of baits. Measurement of sodium fluoroacetate–contaminated tissues from feral pigs showed that residues were too low to present a significant risk to recorded scavenging animals in the area. Some feral pigs vomited before death, with vomitus containing sodium fluoroacetate poison at high concentrations. No vomitus was consumed by non-target species. Almost all feral pigs were killed relatively rapidly after ingestion of sodium fluoroacetate and the signs observed in a small number of poisoned feral pigs did not indicate a significant welfare concern.
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Cordeiro, Jose L. P., Gabriel S. Hofmann, Carlos Fonseca, and Luiz Flamarion B. Oliveira. "Achilles heel of a powerful invader: restrictions on distribution and disappearance of feral pigs from a protected area in Northern Pantanal, Western Brazil." PeerJ 6 (January 12, 2018): e4200. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4200.
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This paper focuses on a rare case of natural disappearance of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in an extensive area without using traditional methods of eradication programs. The study was conducted both in the Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (PRNH) Sesc Pantanal and in an adjacent traditional private cattle ranch. In 1998, feral pigs were abundant and widely distributed in the PRNH. However, the feral pigs gradually disappeared from the area and currently, the absence of pigs in the PRNH contrasts with the adjacent cattle ranch where the species is abundant. To understand the current distribution of the species in the region we partitioned the effects of variation of feral pigs’ presence considering the habitat structure (local), landscape composition and the occurrence of potential predators. Additionally, we modeled the distributions of the species in Northern Pantanal, projecting into the past using the classes of vegetation cover before the PRNH implementation (year 1988). Our results show areas with more suitability for feral pigs in regions where the landscape is dominated by pastures and permeated by patches of Seasonal Dry Forest. The species tends to avoid predominantly forested areas. Additionally, we recorded that the environmental suitability decreases exponentially as the distance from water bodies increases. The disappearance of feral pigs in the PRNH area seems to be associated with changes in the landscape and vegetation structure after the removal of the cattle. In the Brazilian Pantanal, the feral pigs’ occurrence seems strongly conditioned to environmental changes associated to livestock activity.
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Linderholm, Anna, Daisy Spencer, Vincent Battista, Laurent Frantz, Ross Barnett, Robert C. Fleischer, Helen F. James, et al. "A novel MC1R allele for black coat colour reveals the Polynesian ancestry and hybridization patterns of Hawaiian feral pigs." Royal Society Open Science 3, no. 9 (September 2016): 160304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160304.
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Pigs ( Sus scrofa ) have played an important cultural role in Hawaii since Polynesians first introduced them in approximately AD 1200. Additional varieties of pigs were introduced following Captain Cook's arrival in Hawaii in 1778 and it has been suggested that the current pig population may descend primarily, or even exclusively, from European pigs. Although populations of feral pigs today are an important source of recreational hunting on all of the major islands, they also negatively impact native plants and animals. As a result, understanding the origins of these feral pig populations has significant ramifications for discussions concerning conservation management, identity and cultural continuity on the islands. Here, we analysed a neutral mitochondrial marker and a functional nuclear coat colour marker in 57 feral Hawaiian pigs. Through the identification of a new mutation in the MC1R gene that results in black coloration, we demonstrate that Hawaiian feral pigs are mostly the descendants of those originally introduced during Polynesian settlement, though there is evidence for some admixture. As such, extant Hawaiian pigs represent a unique historical lineage that is not exclusively descended from feral pigs of European origin.
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Caley, P. "Population Dynamics of Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) in a Tropical Riverine Habitat Complex." Wildlife Research 20, no. 5 (1993): 625. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9930625.
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Employed mark-recapture techniques to monitor trends in the population density of feral pigs in a tropical woodland habitat containing cereal crops, and compared density indices in this habitat with other similar habitat not containing cereal crops. Over the duration of this study there was no significant trend for increase or decrease but population density fluctuated seasonally between 2.2 and 3.5 pigs kg-2 in the woodland site containing cereal crops. A numerical response model was developed relating observed exponential rate of increase of feral pigs to antecedent rainfall. The model estimated the maximum exponential rate of increase (rmax) of feral pigs to be 0.065 plus or minus 0.17 (s.e.) month-1 or 0.78 plus or minus 0.21 (s.e.) year-1. Comparison of indices of population density of feral pigs in woodland habitat with cereal crops and similar woodland habitat without cereal crops demonstrated that the presence of intensive cereal cropping increased population density of feral pigs almost 4-fold. Population density in the woodland habitat without cereal crops was estimated to be 0.8 pigs kg-2. The response to rainfall and the variation in density in response to an increase in the amount of available food is interpreted as evidence that feral pig populations are limited primarily by food availability.
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Cowled, Brendan D., Steven J. Lapidge, Michelle Smith, and Linton Staples. "Attractiveness of a novel omnivore bait, PIGOUT®, to feral pigs (Sus scrofa) and assessment of risks of bait uptake by non-target species." Wildlife Research 33, no. 8 (2006): 651. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr06054.
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Following a bait-preference pilot study on captive feral pigs, a series of field studies assessed the attractiveness and target-specificity of a prototype manufactured feral pig bait (PIGOUT®). Two promising test baits and fresh meat reference baits were biomarked with iophenoxic acid and aerially distributed in 100-km2 blocks of land infested with feral pigs in western Queensland to assess field uptake and target-specificity without prefeeding. Uptake was assessed by measuring blood iodine levels in aerially shot feral pigs. In all, 80% of feral pigs sampled in a non-toxic PIGOUT®-baited area had significantly elevated blood iodine, compared with 52% of sampled feral pigs in a meat-baited area (although slightly different baiting strategies were employed). No age or sex bias was evident in PIGOUT®-consuming feral pigs. No monitored manufactured baits were consumed by non-target species in 500 bait-nights. Attractiveness and target-specificity trials of ground-laid, unfenced PIGOUT® baits compared with reference baits were subsequently undertaken in several regions of eastern Australia. Results showed that PIGOUT® was consumed readily by feral pigs at all sites, and that it offered significant improvement in target specificity when compared with unfenced wheat or meat baits. However, the baits were consumed by small numbers of macropods, birds and possums. Available evidence indicates that the target-specificity of PIGOUT® bait is highest in the rangelands, reducing slightly in temperate areas and subalpine forests, where abundance of small animals is higher.
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Patterson, Laura, Jaber Belkhiria, Beatriz Martínez-López, and Alda F. A. Pires. "Identification of high-risk contact areas between feral pigs and outdoor-raised pig operations in California: Implications for disease transmission in the wildlife-livestock interface." PLOS ONE 17, no. 6 (June 28, 2022): e0270500. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270500.
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The US is currently experiencing a return to raising domestic pigs outdoors, due to consumer demand for sustainably-raised animal products. A challenge in raising pigs outdoors is the possibility of these animals interacting with feral pigs and an associated risk of pathogen transmission. California has one of the largest and widest geographic distributions of feral pigs. Locations at greatest risk for increased contact between both swine populations are those regions that contain feral pig suitable habitat located near outdoor-raised domestic pigs. The main aim of this study entailed identifying potential high-risk areas of disease transmission between these two swine populations. Aims were achieved by predicting suitable feral pig habitat using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt); mapping the spatial distribution of outdoor-raised pig operations (OPO); and identifying high-risk regions where there is overlap between feral pig suitable habitat and OPO. A MaxEnt prediction map with estimates of the relative probability of suitable feral pig habitat was built, using hunting tags as presence-only points. Predictor layers were included in variable selection steps for model building. Five variables were identified as important in predicting suitable feral pig habitat in the final model, including the annual maximum green vegetation fraction, elevation, the minimum temperature of the coldest month, precipitation of the wettest month and the coefficient of variation for seasonal precipitation. For the risk map, the final MaxEnt model was overlapped with the location of OPOs to categorize areas at greatest risk for contact between feral swine and domestic pigs raised outdoors and subsequent potential disease transmission. Since raising pigs outdoors is a remerging trend, feral pig numbers are increasing nationwide, and both groups are reservoirs for various pathogens, the contact between these two swine populations has important implications for disease transmission in the wildlife-livestock interface.
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Saunders, G., and H. Bryant. "The Evaluation of a Feral Pig Eradication Program During a Simulated Exotic Disease Outbreak." Wildlife Research 15, no. 1 (1988): 73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9880073.
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An exercise was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of plans to eradicate feral pigs in an exotic disease emergency. The study site was an area of 120 km2 on the southern edge of the Macquarie Marshes in western New South Wales. Shooting from a helicopter accounted for 946 pigs at a rate of 39.2 per hour. This was at an average of 1.65 shots and a cost of $11.77 per pig. A further 43 were shot from the ground or trapped. Of an estimated initial population of 1238, 80% was removed. Telemetry studies conducted in conjunction with the exercise indicated that some pigs became attuned to the significance of a hovering helicopter and modified their behaviour to avoid detection. Movements also emphasised the need to match the boundaries of feral pig eradication zones with natural boundaries, where overlapping home ranges are minimal and densities low. Eradication of feral pigs during an outbreak of exotic disease may be an unrealistic goal, and it may be more efficient to aim to eradicate the disease within the feral pig population. This would be achieved by isolating those pigs carrying the infection; it does not necessarily require the removal of all feral pigs.
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Gentle, Matthew, James Speed, and Darren Marshall. "Consumption of crops by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in a fragmented agricultural landscape." Australian Mammalogy 37, no. 2 (2015): 194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/am15003.
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Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) consume and damage crops and impact the environment through predation, competition and habitat disturbance, although supporting dietary data are lacking in agricultural landscapes. This study was undertaken to determine the relative importance of food items in the diet of feral pigs in a fragmented agricultural landscape, particularly to assist in predicting the breadth of likely impacts. Diet composition was assessed from the stomach contents of 196 feral pigs from agricultural properties in southern Queensland. Feral pigs were herbivorous, with plant matter comprising >99% of biomass consumed. Crops were consumed more frequently than non-crop species, and comprised >60% of dietary biomass, indicating a clear potential for direct economic losses. Consumption of pasture and forage species also suggests potential competition for pasture with domestic stock. There is little evidence of direct predation on native fauna, but feral pig feeding activities may impact environmental values. Seasonal differences in consumption of crop, pasture or animal food groups probably reflect the changing availability of food items. We recommend that future dietary studies examine food availability to determine any dietary preferences to assist in determining the foods most susceptible to damage. The outcomes of this study are important for developing techniques for monitoring the impacts of feral pigs, essential for developing management options to reduce feral pig damage on agricultural lands.
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Forsyth, David M., Robert B. Allen, Roy K. J. Allen, Kathrin Affeld, and Darryl I. MacKenzie. "Soil phosphorus predicts feral pig (Sus scrofa) occupancy, detection probability and feeding activity in a temperate montane rainforest." Wildlife Research 43, no. 4 (2016): 277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr16030.
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Context Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) have a wide global distribution that includes large parts of Australia and New Zealand. There is concern about the impacts of feral pigs on above- and below-ground flora and fauna, but little is known about their habitat use and feeding activity in temperate rainforests. Aims We evaluated the importance of abiotic and biotic variables hypothesised to influence seasonal and annual feral pig habitat use and feeding activity in a montane conifer–angiosperm rainforest in Te Urewera, North Island, New Zealand. Methods We used a grid of 25 remote-camera locations to collect feral pig images in a 100-ha area during the winters and summers of 2010 and 2011. Plant composition, solar radiation and soil fertility variables were determined for each camera-image area. Multiseason, multistate occupancy models and information-theoretic methods were used to evaluate how these variables related to feral pig occupancy and feeding. Key results Feral pigs occupied more camera locations in summer than in winter, and detection probabilities increased if piglets were present and with increasing soil phosphorus (P). Piglets were detected only in summer, and their detection probability increased with increasing soil P. The probability of detecting feral pigs feeding also increased with soil P and was higher in 2010 than 2011. Conclusions Feral pigs selected locations with high soil P, probably because those sites had more food than did locations with low soil P. Mast fruiting of tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) has been hypothesised to increase feral pig recruitment, and the higher detection probability of piglets in summer 2010 followed a heavier tawa fruit fall. Implications Our study highlighted the usefulness of camera traps and occupancy models for understanding seasonal and annual dynamics of cryptic ungulate species in remote, rugged forests, and suggests that the impacts of feral pigs will be greatest in areas of high soil P following widespread tawa masting.
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Hone, Jim, and Tony Buckmaster. "How many are there? The use and misuse of continental-scale wildlife abundance estimates." Wildlife Research 41, no. 6 (2014): 473. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr14059.
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The number of individuals in a wildlife population is often estimated and the estimates used for wildlife management. The scientific basis of published continental-scale estimates of individuals in Australia of feral cats and feral pigs is reviewed and contrasted with estimation of red kangaroo abundance and the usage of the estimates. We reviewed all papers on feral cats, feral pigs and red kangaroos found in a Web of Science search and in Australian Wildlife Research and Wildlife Research, and related Australian and overseas scientific and ‘grey’ literature. The estimated number of feral cats in Australia has often been repeated without rigorous evaluation of the origin of the estimate. We propose an origin. The number of feral pigs in Australia was estimated and since then has sometimes been quoted correctly and sometimes misquoted. In contrast, red kangaroo numbers in Australia have been estimated by more rigorous methods and the relevant literature demonstrates active refining and reviewing of estimation procedures and management usage. We propose four criteria for acceptable use of wildlife abundance estimates in wildlife management. The criteria are: use of appropriate statistical or mathematical analysis; precision estimated; original source cited; and age (current or out-of-date) of an estimate evaluated. The criteria are then used here to assess the strength of evidence of the abundance estimates and each has at least one deficiency (being out-of-date). We do know feral cats, feral pigs and red kangaroos occur in Australia but we do not know currently how many feral cats or feral pigs are in Australia. Our knowledge of red kangaroo abundance is stronger at the state than the continental scale, and is also out-of-date at the continental scale. We recommend greater consideration be given to whether abundance estimates at the continental scale are needed and to their use, and not misuse, in wildlife management.
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Fleming, Peter J. S., David Choquenot, and Richard J. Mason. "Aerial baiting of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) for the control of exotic disease in the semi-arid rangelands of New South Wales." Wildlife Research 27, no. 5 (2000): 531. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr98072.
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An experiment that held the density of feral pigs constant while varying the effective density of aerially distributed baits was conducted at three sites in north-western New South Wales. Meat baits, containing one of the biomarkers iophenoxic acid, tetracycline or rhodamine B, were distributed at different intensities over each site, and a sample of pigs was shot from a helicopter at each site to determine bait uptake. Serum and tissue samples taken from each pig were analysed for the occurrence of the biomarkers; the proportions of pigs exhibiting biomarkers represented the proportions of the feral pig populations that had consumed baits at different baiting intensities (expressed as baits per unit of pig density). The maximum percentage of sampled pigs that had eaten baits varied from 31% to 72% across the three sites. Bait uptake was regressed against baiting intensity. For two of the trials, the quantity of bait hypothetically required to eliminate a population of feral pigs was extrapolated to be 1577 baits per unit of pig density, while for the third trial 1874 baits per unit of pig density would have been required. Bait-uptake by non-target animals was substantial, posing potential hazards to birds and reducing the availability of baits to feral pigs. Most likely, seasonal conditions affected bait-uptake by feral pigs. We discuss the implications of these results for exotic disease contingency planning.
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Pavlov, PM, FHJ Crome, and LA Moore. "Feral Pigs, Rainforest Conservation and Exotic Disease in North Queensland." Wildlife Research 19, no. 2 (1992): 179. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9920179.
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Feral pigs [Sus scrofa] are perceived to cause considerable damage in the rain forests of NE Queensland. The distribution, biology and effects of feral pigs in the region were reviewed and the likely efficacy of control options assessed. Topics covered include parasites and diseases of pigs, and the effects of introduction of exotic livestock diseases (in particular foot and mouth disease). The results are presented of a survey of feral pigs in the Cooktown-Townsville area, Queensland carried out during January-May and May-September 1988. Sightings of pigs, presence of tracks, dung, wallows and areas of rooting were used as signs of pig activity. Some 80% of the transects showed signs of pig activity during at least one of the study periods.
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Mitchell, J., W. Dorney, R. Mayer, and J. McIlroy. "Migration of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in rainforests of north Queensland: fact or fiction?" Wildlife Research 36, no. 2 (2009): 110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr06066.
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The Wet Tropics bioregion of north Queensland has been identified as an area of global significance. The world-heritage-listed rainforests have been invaded by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) that are perceived to cause substantial environmental damage. A community perception exists of an annual altitudinal migration of the feral-pig population. The present study describes the movements of 29 feral pigs in relation to altitudinal migration (highland, transitional and lowland areas). Feral pigs were sedentary and stayed within their home range throughout a 4-year study period. No altitudinal migration was detected; pigs moved no more than a mean distance of 1.0 km from the centre of their calculated home ranges. There was no significant difference between the mean (±95% confidence interval) aggregate home ranges for males (8.7 ± 4.3 km2, n = 15) and females (7.2 ± 1.8 km2, n = 14). No difference in home range was detected among the three altitudinal areas: 7.2 ± 2.4 km2 for highland, 6.2 ± 3.9 km2 for transitional and 9.9 ± 5.3 km2 for lowland areas. The aggregate mean home range for all pigs in the present study was 8.0 ± 2.4 km2. The study also assessed the influence seasons had on the home range of eight feral pigs on the rainforest boundary; home ranges did not significantly vary in size between the tropical wet and dry seasons, although the mean home range in the dry season (7.7 ± 6.9 km2) was more than twice the home range in the wet season (2.9 ± 0.8 km2). Heavier pigs tended to have larger home ranges. The results of the present study suggest that feral pigs are sedentary throughout the year so broad-scale control techniques need to be applied over sufficient areas to encompass individual home ranges. Control strategies need a coordinated approach if a long-term reduction in the pig population is to be achieved.
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Clarke, CMH, RM Dzieciolowski, D. Batcheler, and CM Frampton. "A Comparison of Tooth Eruption and Wear and Dental Cementum Techniques in Age Determination of New Zealand Feral Pigs." Wildlife Research 19, no. 6 (1992): 769. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9920769.
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This study evaluates dental ageing techniques for feral pigs in northern South I., New Zealand. Ages of pigs were estimated by three techniques: tooth eruption and replacement on criteria calibrated from pen-reared American-bred European wild pigs; tooth eruption, development, and wear calibrated from known-age feral pigs from the study area; and annular growth in cementum of molariform teeth. All age estimations showed strong agreement with each other and with known ages. The eruption and replacement criteria were most useful for ageing pigs less than 30 months old, whereas the other two criteria were more suited to ageing pigs more than 30 months old. All permanent teeth of New Zealand feral pigs erupted 1-2 months earlier than in European and Malayan wild pigs, and permanent premolars erupted up to 4 months earlier than in Japanese wild pigs. Earlier eruption may reflect early onset of maturity in New Zealand pigs. The clarity of annuli observed varied between animals, but generally increased with age. Pigs from unforested habitat had a higher percentage of clearly defined annuli than those from forested habitat. This may be explained by a climatic or dietary factor.
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McIlroy, J. C., and E. J. Gifford. "The ‘Judas’ Pig Technique: a Method that Could Enhance Control Programmes against Feral Pigs, Sus scrofa." Wildlife Research 24, no. 4 (1997): 483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr96109.
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The successful ‘Judas’ goat technique has been adapted for use with feral pigs. The ‘Judas’ goat technique involves releasing radio-collared goats into a control area and, after a sufficient period to allow them to join other goats, tracking them down and culling the other individuals associated with them. Trials with the technique on feral pigs in Namadgi National Park, ACT, indicated that it worked best with sows captured in the same area. Each of these sows established contact with 1–8 other pigs in the area within 1–7 days of release and was located with at least one other pig on 67–100% of occasions. In contrast, sows and boars from outside the study area took longer to come into contact with ‘local’ pigs and associated with them much less frequently. A subsequent control exercise in Namadgi, using ‘Judas’ pigs to indicate where to lay warfarin baits from a helicopter, resulted in a 75% reduction in the low-density population still present after a larger control exercise two years earlier. Since then, the technique has been used to eradicate a small colony of feral pigs in central Australia and is proving successful for control of feral pigs and other ungulates in other parts of Australia and New Zealand.
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Adams, Peter J., Joseph B. Fontaine, Robert M. Huston, and Patricia A. Fleming. "Quantifying efficacy of feral pig (Sus scrofa) population management." Wildlife Research 46, no. 7 (2019): 587. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr18100.
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Abstract ContextFeral pigs (Sus scrofa) are an increasing threat to agriculture and ecological communities globally. Although ground rooting is their most readily observable sign, feral pigs typically remain highly cryptic and their abundance and impacts are difficult to quantify. AimsThe aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of current feral pig population management practices (trapping, baiting, no feral pig management) on feral pig abundance and digging impacts, using a BACI (before–after control–impact) experimental design at a landscape scale. MethodsA monitoring program was established to quantify both the abundance and digging impacts of feral pig populations within a temperate sclerophyll forest landscape using distance sampling. Transects were established across eight drinking water catchments where the whole catchment was the unit of replication for feral pig population management. Monitoring was carried out at 6-monthly intervals for 3 years, with no feral pig population management undertaken in the first year. In total, 367 feral pigs were trapped out of three catchments subject to trapping, and 26 were baited across two catchments subject to baiting with a commercial product (PIGOUT, Animal Control Technologies Australia, Melbourne, Vic., Australia). Three catchments were exempt from feral pig population management for the duration of this study. Key resultsFeral pig density within the overall study site was estimated as 1.127pigskm–2, resulting in 4580diggingskm–2year–1. There was no significant difference in feral pig density estimates observed among population management treatments or the treatment×year interaction term. An overall decrease in feral pig density across all catchments was attributed to extreme temperature and drought conditions experienced during the study. ConclusionsFeral pig populations demonstrate high resilience to current feral pig population management practices in the present study. The annual volume of soil disturbed by the numbers of feral pigs estimated across this study area is comparable to a commercial-scale resource extraction industry. We did not find significant differences in feral pig digging density among dominant vegetation types, but larger digs were associated with swamp vegetation. ImplicationsCurrent levels of feral pig population management did not reduce pig densities across eight catchments in the northern jarrah forest; therefore, more intensive population management is needed.
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Sanders, Dustin L., Fang Xie, Richard E. Mauldin, Jerome C. Hurley, Lowell A. Miller, Michelle R. Garcia, Randy W. DeYoung, David B. Long, and Tyler A. Campbell. "Efficacy of ERL-4221 as an ovotoxin for feral pigs (Sus scrofa)." Wildlife Research 38, no. 2 (2011): 168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr10179.
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Context The expansion of feral pig populations across the United States has increased the occurrence of damage and damage complaints. New techniques are needed to more effectively manage feral pig damage, including the development of fertility control agents. Aims We aimed to assess the ovotoxic properties of ERL-4221 as a candidate fertility control agent for feral pigs. Methods We conducted two palatability trials to determine ERL-4221 acceptance and one experimental trial with ERL-4221 at the captive wildlife facility of Texas A&M University-Kingsville during 2008. Our experimental trial had three treatments, a control containing no ERL-4221, baits containing 16.0 mg ERL-4221 kg–1 bodyweight for 10 days, and baits containing 16.0 mg ERL-4221 kg–1 bodyweight for 20 days. Key results Final body mass, total ovary mass, number of follicles and number of corpora lutea did not differ between treatments. Conclusions We did not find it efficacious to orally deliver ERL-4221 to feral pigs to reduce fertility. Oral delivery is the most practical, cost-effective means of delivering fertility control agents to feral pigs and development of additional fertility control strategies are needed. Implications Unless ovotoxic effects of ERL-4221 can be identified in feral pigs, along with a successful means of administration, other fertility control strategies may need to be explored, such as oocyte-secreted proteins that regulate follicular development.
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Caley, Peter. "Movements, Activity Patterns and Habitat Use of Feral Pigs (Sus scrofa) in a Tropical Habitat." Wildlife Research 24, no. 1 (1997): 77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr94075.
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Movements, activity patterns and habitat use of feral pigs were studied in a tropical woodland habitat by radio-telemetry, live-trapping and hunter returns. The mean aggregate home-range size was 33.5 km2 for boars and 24.1 km2 for sows. Feral pigs were rather sedentary, with no tendency to disperse great distances from their initial home ranges. Pigs were most active at night, with peaks of activity in the late afternoon and early morning. Pigs preferentially used the riparian vegetation strip bordering major rivers, and grain crops, when available. The implications for the management of pigs are discussed.
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Statham, M., and M. Middleton. "Feral pigs on Flinders Island." Papers and Proceedings of The Royal Society of Tasmania 121 (1987): 121–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.121.121.
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Dall, David. "Managing Feral Pigs Across Australia." Outlooks on Pest Management 21, no. 6 (December 1, 2010): 277–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1564/21dec07.
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COLLINS, GH. "Feral pigs—the time bomb." Australian Veterinary Journal 80, no. 5 (May 2002): 305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2002.tb10853.x.
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PAXTON, D. "Feral pigs—the time bomb." Australian Veterinary Journal 80, no. 5 (May 2002): 305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2002.tb10854.x.
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GEE, RW. "Feral pigs - the time bomb." Australian Veterinary Journal 80, no. 1-2 (January 2002): 96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2002.tb12850.x.
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Kleba, R., J. Hone, and G. Robards. "The Acceptance of Dyed Grain by Feral Pigs and Birds II. Penned Feral Pigs." Wildlife Research 12, no. 1 (1985): 51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9850051.
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Three experiments were conducted to determine the acceptance of dyed and undyed grain bait by penned feral pigs. The experiments were conducted with three grains (wheat, sorghum and maize) each coloured blue, green or black with a powdered food dye or pigment. The pigs showed no preference for any of the three grains and ate as much dyed grain as they had previously eaten undyed grain. However, high levels of pigment concentration depressed (P<0.05) intake. These results indicate that the addition of dye to poison grain will not reduce grain intake. There was evidence to suggest that pigs have a degree of colour vision, because they showed preference for certain coloured grain.
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Jean Desbiez, Arnaud Leonard, Alexine Keuroghlian, Ubiratan Piovezan, and Richard Ernest Bodmer. "Invasive species and bushmeat hunting contributing to wildlife conservation: the case of feral pigs in a Neotropical wetland." Oryx 45, no. 1 (January 2011): 78–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605310001304.
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AbstractAn unusual combination of two major conservation threats, invasive species and bushmeat hunting, has had a positive outcome for wildlife conservation in the Brazilian Pantanal. The Pantanal is a wetland and one of the few non-protected areas in the Neotropics where people live but rarely hunt native wildlife. To understand why wildlife hunting is not a major conservation issue in the Pantanal an exploratory survey, semi-structured interviews, skull collection and tooth wear analysis of feral pig Sus scrofa, white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari and collared peccary Pecari tajacu were conducted, and hunting registers distributed, in the central region of the Pantanal. The results showed that feral pigs are the main hunting target. Feral pigs are effectively acting as a replacement species for hunting of native wildlife because the pigs provide a constant, culturally acceptable, readily available and free source of meat and oil to remote ranches. We cannot evaluate, however, if the buffer from hunting that feral pigs provide to native wildlife outweigh this species’ potential negative ecological impacts.
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Mitchell, J., W. Dorney, R. Mayer, and J. McIlroy. "Spatial and temporal patterns of feral pig diggings in rainforests of north Queensland." Wildlife Research 34, no. 8 (2007): 597. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr06064.
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Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are believed to have a severe negative impact on the ecological values of tropical rainforests in north Queensland, Australia. Most perceptions of the environmental impacts of feral pigs focus on their disturbance of the soil or surface material (diggings). Spatial and temporal patterns of feral pig diggings were identified in this study: most diggings occurred in the early dry season and predominantly in moist soil (swamp and creek) microhabitats, with only minimal pig diggings found elsewhere through the general forest floor. The overall mean daily pig diggings were 0.09% of the rainforest floor. Most diggings occurred 3–4 months after the month of maximum rainfall. Most pig diggings were recorded in highland swamps, with over 80% of the swamp areas dug by pigs at some time during the 18-month study period. These results suggest that management of feral pig impacts should focus on protecting swamp and creek microhabitats in the rainforest, which are preferred by pigs for digging and which have a high environmental significance.
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Delgado-Acevedo, Johanna, Angeline Zamorano, Randy W. DeYoung, Tyler A. Campbell, David G. Hewitt, and David B. Long. "Promiscuous mating in feral pigs (Sus scrofa) from Texas, USA." Wildlife Research 37, no. 7 (2010): 539. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr10052.
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Context Feral pigs represent a significant threat to agriculture and ecosystems and are disease reservoirs for pathogens affecting humans, livestock and other wildlife. Information on the behavioural ecology of feral pigs might increase the efficiency and effectiveness of management strategies. Aims We assessed the frequency of promiscuous mating in relation to oestrous synchrony in feral pigs from southern Texas, USA, an agroecosystem with a widespread and well established population of feral pigs. An association between multiple paternity of single litters and synchrony of oestrous may indicate alternative mating strategies, such as mate-guarding. Methods We collected gravid sows at nine sites in southern Texas during 2005–07. We used a panel of DNA microsatellite markers to estimate frequency of multiple paternity and the distribution of male mating among litters of feral pigs. Conception dates were determined by fitting average fetal crown–rump measurements within litters to expected fetal development relative to gestation time. Key results We found evidence of multiple paternity in 21 of 64 litters (33%) from seven of nine sites sampled. Synchrony of oestrous did not influence promiscuous mating, as we found multiple paternity at sites with synchronous and asynchronous oestrous. Males sired from 8 to 11 offspring at three sites where >10 litters were sampled. Mean litter size (5.4) was less than the best-fit value for the number of offspring, indicating that some males sired offspring with ≥ 2 females. Key conclusions Feral pigs in Texas appear to be promiscuous under a range of demographic conditions, unlike wild boar and feral pigs in other regions. The ecological and behavioural factors affecting multiple paternity are not clear, but may include male–male competition, harassment avoidance, genetic benefits for offspring, response to macro-habitat conditions, or selection. Implications A high incidence of sexual contact among individuals may increase the opportunity for diseases transmitted by oral or venereal routes, such as swine brucellosis and pseudorabies. In addition, fertility-control methods targeting males only are likely to be inefficient if female promiscuity is high; methods targeting females or both sexes jointly may be more effective.
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Taylor, D. L., L. K. P. Leung, and I. J. Gordon. "The impact of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) on an Australian lowland tropical rainforest." Wildlife Research 38, no. 5 (2011): 437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr08138.
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Context Feral pigs are thought to damage tropical rainforests, but long-term impact has not yet been quantified. Aims This study aimed to determine the impact of feral pigs on soil, soil biota and vegetation in a lowland tropical rainforest in Daintree, north-eastern Australia, and the recovery following exclusion of feral pigs for 12 years. Methods Three types of plots were established in 1994: damaged plots were fenced in areas where severe damage had already occurred (‘fenced damaged’); undamaged plots were fenced in areas showing no evidence of damage (‘fenced undamaged’); and unfenced plots were randomly placed and remained at risk of damage (‘unfenced’). Key results In 2006, feral pigs had caused significant declines in seedling density, soil macroinvertebrate density and leaf litter cover, but not in soil pH, soil conductivity, invertebrate diversity, vegetation diversity, tree density, canopy cover or fallen log cover. Mean seedling density was lower in the fenced damaged plots than the fenced undamaged plots in 1994 but not in 2006. Other response variables also did not differ significantly between these two plot types, indicating that any damage caused by feral pigs to soil, soil biota or vegetation before 1994 was fully recovered within 12 years. Conclusions Our findings suggest that reductions in soil invertebrate density, seedling density, and leaf litter cover should be monitored regularly to inform feral pig management programs, and that these variables should be measured for objective assessment of the outcome of any feral pig control program. These declines may continue and be translated into the decline of trees and other keystone species or processes into the future. Implications The efficacy of feral pig control programs can be assessed using the quantitative analysis of the aforementioned variables. The results of such monitoring programs, in conjunction with baseline data, can provide an indication of ecosystem recovery and therefore the level of success achieved by the applied control measures.
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Cummings, K. J., L. D. Rodriguez-Rivera, I. McNeely, J. S. Suchodolski, B. T. Mesenbrink, B. R. Leland, and M. J. Bodenchuk. "Fecal shedding ofCampylobacter jejuniandCampylobacter coliamong feral pigs in Texas." Zoonoses and Public Health 65, no. 1 (August 19, 2017): 215–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zph.12390.
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NUGENT, G., J. WHITFORD, I. J. YOCKNEY, and M. L. CROSS. "Reduced spillover transmission ofMycobacterium bovisto feral pigs (Sus scofa) following population control of brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)." Epidemiology and Infection 140, no. 6 (August 18, 2011): 1036–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0950268811001579.
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SUMMARYIn New Zealand, bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is present in domestic cattle and deer herds primarily as the result of on-going disease transmission from the primary wildlife host, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). However, bTB is also present in other introduced free-ranging mammalian species. Between 1996 and 2007, we conducted a series of studies to determine whether poison control of possum populations would have any effect on the prevalence ofMycobacterium bovisinfection in sympatric feral pigs (Sus scrofa). We compared trends in the prevalence of bTB infection in feral pigs in six study areas: possum numbers were reduced in three areas, but not in the other three, effectively providing a thrice-replicated before-after-control-intervention design. Before possum control, the overall prevalence of culture-confirmedM. bovisinfection in feral pigs was 16·7–94·4%, depending on area. Infection prevalence varied little between genders but did vary with age, increasing during the first 2–3 years of life but then declining in older pigs. In the areas in which possum control was applied,M. bovisprevalence in feral pigs fell to near zero within 2–3 years, provided control was applied successfully at the whole-landscape scale. In contrast, prevalence changed much less or not at all in the areas with no possum control. We conclude that feral pigs in New Zealand acquireM. bovisinfection mainly by inter-species transmission from possums, but then rarely pass the disease on to other pigs and are end hosts. This is in contrast to the purported role of pigs as bTB maintenance hosts in other countries, and we suggest the difference in host status may reflect differences in the relative importance of the oral route of infection in different environments. Despite harbouringM. bovisinfection for a number of years, pigs in New Zealand do not sustain bTB independently, but are good sentinels for disease prevalence in possum populations.
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Zimmermann, Namor Pinheiro, Igor Alexandre Hany Fuzeta Schabib Peres, Paulo Henrique Braz, Raquel Soares Juliano, Luis Antônio Mathias, and Aiesca Oliveira Pellegrin. "Prevalência sorológica de Brucella spp. em porcos ferais e bovinos em simpatria no Pantanal do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil." Semina: Ciências Agrárias 39, no. 6 (November 30, 2018): 2437. http://dx.doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2018v39n6p2437.
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The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies in feral pigs and bovines simpatrics in the Pantanal subregions of Paiaguás and Nhecolândia. The study was conducted in the municipality of Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. A total of 105 feral pigs and 256 cattle were sampled in 12 farms, in all animals blood samples were collected for the serological diagnosis with Rose Bengal Test (RBT) for screening, 2-Mercaptoethanol (2-ME) confirmatory test and comparative test with Fluorescence Polarization Assay (FPA). The prevalence of positive feral pigs were 1% (1/105) in the RBT and FPA and no positive AAT results were confirmed in the 2-ME test. The prevalence of positive cattle sampled was 11.32%, 4.3% and 7.42% in the RBT, 2-ME and FPA tests respectively. The degree of agreement obtained between the serological tests used in cattle was Kappa = 0.506 (p <0.001), 95% CI (0.282 - 0.729). The results of the serological tests demonstrated that brucellosis is widespread in bovine herds of the region studied, but the same type of exposure to the agent did not occur in feral pigs according to the diagnostic tests used.
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Wilson, GR, GJE Hill, and A. Barnes. "An Aerial Survey of Feral Pigs and Emus in Southeastern Queensland." Wildlife Research 14, no. 4 (1987): 515. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9870515.
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Aerial surveys of feral pigs in the Goondiwindi region of Queensland showed an overall observed density of about 1 per square kilometree. On mature wheat crops in October, up to four feral pigs per square kilometre were seen amidst substantial crop damage. Emus were less abundant and seen more evenly over all habitats at an average of 0.3 per square kilometre. Factors affecting sightability are discussed.
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Mitchell, J. "The effectiveness of aerial baiting for control of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in North Queensland." Wildlife Research 25, no. 3 (1998): 297. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr97009.
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This study assessed the proportion of a feral pig population that consumed aerially distributed baits incorporating a non-toxic biomarker (iophenoxic acid). Baits were distributed at a rate of 18 baits km-2 over 70 km2 of a seasonally inaccessible habitat. A total of 102 feral pigs were then captured by trapping and ground-shooting. Blood samples from 63 adult feral pigs were analysed for the presence of the biomarker; 40 (63%) were considered to have consumed at least one bait. Ground-shooting and trapping over 6 days resulted in 18% and 16% population reduction respectively.
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Bengsen, Andrew J., Luke K. P. Leung, Steven J. Lapidge, and Iain J. Gordon. "Target-specificity of feral pig baits under different conditions in a tropical rainforest." Wildlife Research 38, no. 5 (2011): 370. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr11023.
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Context The mitigation of feral pig (Sus scrofa) impacts in north Queensland’s World Heritage tropical rainforests is constrained by the lack of an effective and target-specific poison baiting method. Aims This study aimed to determine whether easily implemented bait presentation methods or seasonal variation in bait acceptability could be used to selectively reduce the consumption of feral pig baits by non-target species. Methods We exposed manufactured feral pig baits to pigs and non-target species in the field, and compared bait encounter, sampling and consumption rates for different functional groups of species among three different types of bait presentation and composition. We then exposed baits under different seasonal conditions and related bait encounter and consumption by different functional groups to seasonally variable phenomena. Key results Shallow burial greatly reduced bait consumption by most non-target species, but not dingoes (Canis lupus dingo). Nocturnal bait distribution and seasonal baiting were less useful. Pigs showed substantial seasonal variation in physiological condition, suggesting that pigs should be more susceptible to consuming novel foods, such as baits, after periods of low rainfall. However, few pigs consumed the manufactured baits used in this study. Conclusions Manufactured baits are not currently suitable for widespread use in the region. However, shallow burial should provide an effective method of reducing non-target bait-take if baits can be made more attractive and acceptable to pigs and less acceptable to dingoes. Implications Future efforts to enable effective feral pig control in the region should focus on developing baiting materials that are more attractive to pigs and unappealing to dingoes.
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Spencer, Peter B. S., Steve J. Lapidge, Jordan O. Hampton, and John R. Pluske. "The sociogenetic structure of a controlled feral pig population." Wildlife Research 32, no. 4 (2005): 297. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr04076.
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In Australia, the feral pig (Sus scrofa) is a significant vertebrate pest that has an impact on agricultural production, public health and ecosystem integrity. Although feral pigs are controlled throughout much of their range, little is known about the impact that these control programs have had on the social biology, structure and the dispersal of pigs. To begin to address this, we collected demographic data and genetic samples from 123 feral pigs culled during a regional aerial shooting program over 33 pastoral properties in the semi-arid rangelands of southern Queensland, Australia. Sampling was carried out after two years of extensive control efforts (aerial 1080-baiting) and the samples therefore represented a controlled, persecuted population with a bias towards young animals. The analysis of 13 microsatellite loci suggested that females will accept multiple matings, females form loose mobs that appear to be highly dynamic social groups, and males will travel large distances between mobs. These data indicate that feral pigs in this population had a high level of social contact and form a single open population with no evidence of genetic (population) structuring. Such information may be important to integrate into management strategies, particularly the development of contingency plans regarding the spread of wildlife diseases.
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Keil, Paul G. "Unmaking the Feral." Environmental Humanities 15, no. 2 (July 1, 2023): 19–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/22011919-10422267.
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Abstract Domesticated pigs (Sus scrofa) were introduced as livestock in Australia by European settlers, and now a large population is living wild. Rather than interrogate the settler pig as co-colonizer and destroyer of Australian ecologies, this article employs Deborah Bird Rose’s concept of “unmaking”—a process that fractures relationality in service of control—to articulate the relational violence done to the free-living pig by naming it a feral animal. An examination of the nonhuman’s historical entanglement with Anglo-Australian settlers in New South Wales will trace the free-living pigs’ shifting agency and identity. Introduced pigs were modern English breeds, domesticates in nascent capitalist stages of unmaking. Yet, these animals were made anew in Australia, living largely unmediated and demonstrating remarkable adaptability to novel environments. This article analyzes how porcine bodies and identities took shape in connection to a hunting culture and wild pork economy, a practice that encouraged Sus scrofa’s transformative ability to move between wild and domestic domains. Then, in the 1950s, how farmers, veterinarians, and government actors with converging motivations sought to reductively read the free-living pig as toxic and illegitimate, and to rebrand the “wild” pig as “feral.” To be feral in Australia is to be part of a systematic process that institutes strict limitations on an animal’s relational possibilities. By problematizing all life-sustaining connections the nonhuman being has with their environment, this process endeavors to radically unmake the socio-ecologies that constitute their being. Unmaking the feral targets the relational knots that make existence possible.
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Caley, P., and B. Ottley. "The Effectiveness of Hunting Dogs for Removing Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa)." Wildlife Research 22, no. 2 (1995): 147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9950147.
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The effectiveness of a small team of hunting dogs for removing feral pigs was examined in relation to group size of feral pigs encountered and the population density of pigs being hunted. Hunting dogs were successful on 88% of occasions of catching or cornering solitary pigs when encountered. This rate of success rapidly declined as the group size of encountered pigs increased, with the mean maximum number of pigs that could be caught or cornered in any one encounter estimated to be about one pig per dog. The sex ratio of mature pigs obtained from a hunted sample showed a significant bias ( X*2 = 4.3,d.f. = 1, P< 0.05) towards catching more males (M: F = 1.6: 1.0). One team of hunting dogs removed 22 of an estimated 79 pigs inhabiting a 94-km*2 area at a rate of 0.6 pigs h-*1 in 35 h of hunting. It is concluded that hunting with dogs is an effective way for removing residual pigs after densities have been reduced by other forms of control.
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Neaux, Dimitri, Gabriele Sansalone, François Lecompte, Camille Noûs, Ashleigh Haruda, Renate Schafberg, and Thomas Cucchi. "Examining the effect of feralization on craniomandibular morphology in pigs, Sus scrofa (Artiodactyla: Suidae)." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 131, no. 4 (November 16, 2020): 870–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa156.
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Abstract Feralization is the process by which domestic animals return to the wild and produce self-sustaining populations. It is often considered as a model in understanding the permanence of morphological changes associated with domestication; however, it is still unclear how much the release of anthropogenic selective pressures affects domestic traits. Here, we assessed the influence of feralization on the domestic morphological traits acquired through selective breeding using craniomandibular differences in shape and size between populations of feral pigs, wild boar and domestic pigs, using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. Our results suggest that numerous cranial and mandibular traits associated with domestication still exist in feral specimens, corroborating that domestication-induced changes in the shape of morphological elements are broadly maintained in feral populations. This is not the case for size variations, however, as the cranium is significantly smaller in feral pigs than in domesticated breeds, which could be due to the selective pressures associated with founding events. Our exploratory study, therefore, underlines the complexity of feral population history, the intricate influence of variations in genetic diversity, and novel selection pressures in the morphology of these groups. Future studies will need to expand the sample to take into account the diversity of morphotypes.
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WHITTEM, J. "Eradication of Feral Pigs from Australia." Australian Veterinary Journal 80, no. 8 (August 2002): 504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2002.tb12477.x.
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AUTY, JH. "Eradication of Feral Pigs from Australia." Australian Veterinary Journal 80, no. 8 (August 2002): 504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2002.tb12478.x.
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Lapidge, Dr Steve. "Taking the fight to Feral Pigs." Australian Veterinary Journal 83, no. 5 (May 2005): 262–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2005.tb12729.x.
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Hone, J. "How Many Feral Pigs in Australia." Wildlife Research 17, no. 6 (1990): 571. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9900571.
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Hone, J., H. Bryant, P. Nicholls, W. Atkinson, and R. Kleba. "The Acceptance of Dyed Grain by Feral Pigs and Birds. 3. Comparison of Intakes of Dyed and Undyed Grain by Feral Pigs and Birds in Pig-Proof Paddocks." Wildlife Research 12, no. 3 (1985): 447. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9850447.
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In a 2-year study maize, wheat and sorghum grains, and a green and a blue dye were used. Of 57 bird species recorded in the study area only galahs and crested pigeons were observed eating grain. Neither feral pigs nor birds had differences in intake of undyed or dyed grain on average over the study; however, intake differences were highly variable as a result of interactions involving years, seasons, grains and times within seasons. Daily grain intake per pig averaged 2.33 kg and daily grain intake by all birds averaged 0.24 kg. Intakes by pigs and birds varied significantly with years, seasons, grains and times within seasons in complex interactions. The study suggests that poisoned grain baits for feral pig control may be dyed with little effect on intake by feral pigs, but that dyeing poisoned grain may not decrease its acceptance by some bird species.