How much of a problem are wild boar?
The Alberta government wants to know.
Vaughn Christensen, manager of inspection services with Alberta Agriculture, said his office is on a “fact finding mission” to find out how big a problem wild boar are in the province and find solutions.
“We need to determine the extent of the problem,” said Christensen.
He said no one is even sure how many wild boar producers there are in the province.
The survey was launched after a resolution at the Agricultural Service Board convention in January asked the province to ban wild boar or implement stricter regulations.
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Wild boar were introduced to Alberta in the 1990s as a way to diversify the livestock industry. Some animals escaped and have caused problems.
In 2008, the province declared wild boar a pest if they are outside a fence and at large. They are considered livestock if they are within a fenced area.
“It looks like we are getting some positive action,” said Art Preachuk, agricultural fieldman for Red Deer County.
He said the resolution was supported by municipalities across the province.
“The consequences of not acting on wild boar are catastrophic,” he said, pointing to the millions of dollars in damages caused by wild boar in the United States.
“We have a few hundred here. We have a chance to get rid of them before they cost us hundreds of millions.”
Christensen said he hopes the surveys will help the department learn how many wild boar producers are in the province, the extent of the wild boar problem and damage they cause, and if there are ways to regulate the industry through strict fencing, identification and containment requirements.
