Proceedings of the First National FERAL SWINE CONFERENCE June 2 – 3, 1999 Ft. Worth Texas Introduction....................................................................................................4 Max E. Coats, Jr., DVM Wild hogs in the Central United States..............................................................5 Philip S. Gipson, PhD State Reports...............................................................................................11 Kansas State Report California State Report Alabama State Report Indiana State Report Kansas State Report Missouri State Report Oklahoma State Report Arkansas State Report Florida State Report Georgia State Report National Pork Producers’ Council Wildlife Services Extension Service Texas Agricultural Extension Service Texas Wildlife Services, Uvalde Outfitter Texas Parks and Wildlife Eden —Texas University of Illinois Feral Swine- National Concerns.....................................................................25 Arnold C. Taft, DVM Cooperative Texas Wildlife Damage Management...........................................27 Gary L. Nunley Getting The Word Out About Feral Hogs........................................................31 Billy J. Higginbotham, PhD Feral Swine Conference Proceedings Table of Contents The Noble Foundation's Wildlife and Fisheries Program..................................34 Michael D. Porter, Kenneth L. Gee, J. Grant Huggins and Russell L. Stevens Existing Arkansas Laws Regulating Feral Pigs.................................................37 Greg Mathis Feral Swine as a Source of Infection...............................................................40 Jay S. Levenstein The Wild Boar Population Model....................................................................42 Reginald H. Barrett, PhD Impacts of Feral Swine on Wildlife...................................................................46 Dale Rollins, PhD Feral Hogs at Avon Park Air Force Range Florida.............................................52 Dr. Patrick Walsh Seasonal Diets and Food Habits of Feral Swine...............................................58 Richard B. Taylor Reproduction of Feral Swine.........................................................................67 Eric Hellgren, PhD PRV in Feral Swine on Ossabaw Island Georgia...............................................69 David E. Stallknecht, PhD Pseudorabies Virus in Feral Swine.................................................................73 Carlos H. Romero, PhD and Paul N. Meade Research on PRV in Feral Swine....................................................................75 Ned Hahn, PhD, Chris Hsu, Brian Paszkiet Eradication Efforts for Brucellosis and Pseudorabies.......................................86 Clarence J. Wheeler, DVM Vaccine Delivery Methods for Feral Swine......................................................94 Philip H. Elzer, PhD Brucella suis in Feral Swine............................................................................98 Terry H. Conger, D.V.M. Edward Young, M.D. Richard A. Heckmann, Ph.D. Impacts of Feral Hogs on Corporate Timberlands...........................................108 David B. Whitehouse Marketing Feral Swine Meat.........................................................................111 Jim Weems Feral Swine In Georgia.................................................................................114 C. Carter Black, III, DVM Conserving a Resource...............................................................................115 Maurice Chambers Page – ii – Feral Swine Conference Proceedings Table of Contents Feral Hog Control Methods..........................................................................117 Mark E. Mapston Feral/Wild Swine Surveillance......................................................................121 Tommy Dees, DVM Texas Rolling Plains Feral Swine Disease Survey..........................................124 Bruce Lawhorn, DVM, MS Conclusion.................................................................................................128 Rick Smathers Breakout Sessions.....................................................................................129 Rebecca Parker Neil Pugsley Dr. Dick Shepherd Participant List............................................................................................143 Page – iii – Max E. Coats, Jr., DVM Introduction Introduction Max E. Coats, Jr., DVM Deputy Executive Director Texas Animal Health Commission Wild/feral swine have been a feature of the landscape of the "New World" since the time of Columbus. Over the years they have been a bane to some and a blessing to others. A famous person once said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same!" In the case of feral swine, this is certainly true. I welcome you all here to this symposium and thank you for your interest in this important event. The theme for this Feral Swine Symposium is "Cooperative Solutions for Managing Feral Swine." In the process of planning this symposium, four objectives were identified. We hope to share information related to each of the following: 1. Field studies and research on diseases of feral swine as they relate to public health as well as the risk of disease transmission to domestic swine. 2. Economic aspects of harvesting and marketing feral swine and feral swine products. 3. Potential adverse affects of feral swine such as crop damage, vehicle accidents and decreased marketability of domestic swine. 4. Potential impact on soil erosion and water quality as well as impacts on native plants and wildlife populations. During this seminar it is my hope that together we can develop some strategic management plans and goals for use by state and federal governmental agencies, the research and development community as well as members of the various industry groups. In order to accomplish this purpose, it seems to me that we will need to identify needs and issues important to government, industry and research entities. Additionally, prioritizing issues that can be most effectively addressed is an essential goal for this seminar. You will note that the structure of the agenda for our deliberations reflects these items. The group discussions toward the end of this seminar will be forums where synthesis will produce some useful prioritized statements of issues to be addressed along with a plan of action essential to those who would successfully manage this very challenging renewable natural resource. Page – 4 – Philip S. Gipson, Charles D. Lee Wild hogs in the Central United States Wild hogs in the Central United States: A New Management Challenge Philip S. Gipson, PhD Leader of the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit U.S. Geological Survey Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS Charles D. Lee Department of Animal Sciences and Industry 127 Call Hall Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas 66506 Wild hogs have expanded their range into the central tier of states from Colorado and Kansas to Indiana and Ohio during the last 10 years. Major causes for the range expansion include translocation to establish populations for hunting, escape of hogs from shooting preserves, and dispersal from established wild populations. Research is critical in order to develop meaningful programs to manage wild hogs in recently invaded states. Studies of the distribution, population dynamics, and health status of newly established populations should be initiated as soon as possible. Other priority needs include: studies of competitive relationships with deer and other wildlife, objective assessments of the views of hunters, farmers, and other citizens about wild hogs, and gaining insight into the goals of wild hog enthusiasts that are responsible for releasing wild hogs into new areas. The effectiveness of hunting and other population control tools should be evaluated. A national coordinating group is needed for the study and management of wild hogs. INTRODUCTION Wild hogs (Sus scrofa) have existed for 2 hundred years or more in most southern states and California (Mayer and Brisbin 1991). Present populations of wild hogs include free-living, formerly domestic swine, Eurasian wild boar, and hybrids between these forms. All are members of the species S. scrofa and interbreed readily. Large scale expansions of range and concurrent population increases by wild hogs have occurred during the past 40 years in two regions of the United States: Page – 5 – Philip S. Gipson, Charles D. Lee Wild hogs in the Central United States 1) southern plains and forests of Texas (Taylor 1993) and Oklahoma (Stevens 1996), and 2) northern and central coastal areas of California (Waithman et al. 1999). Numbers of wild hogs in Texas may exceed 1,000,000 (Taylor 1993) and approximately 133,000 probably occur in California (Waithman 1999). In the last 10 years wild hogs have expanded their range from the Southeast Region of the United States into the central tier of states extending from Colorado and Kansas to Indiana and Ohio (Gipson et al. 1998) (Figures 1 and 2). Natural resources managers and animal health officials in Texas, California, and southeastern states have a long history of dealing with wild hogs. Officials in the recently invaded central states have little experience with wild hogs and some of these states are only beginning to pass laws to control introductions of wild hogs and to protect domestic animals and wildlife from diseases potentially carried by wild hogs. Some natural resources managers are attempting to develop local