Project aims to control the 6 million feral pigs in the U.S.

USDA is accepting applications through November 5 for project grants that would help producers and landowners trap and control feral swine. The effort is part of the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program, which was passed as part of the 2018 farm bill.

This will be the second round of funding distributed through the program. It’s aimed for nonfederal, not-for-profit partners working in select areas of Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

The United States has an estimated 6 million feral swine this year, USDA estimates. The animals can carry foreign diseases, raising concerns that they may spread those diseases to domestic livestock herds.

“Right now, it’s Germany getting all of the headlines, but we are keeping our attention on doing what’s needed to protect the U.S. pork industry,” Dave Pyburn, chief veterinarian at the National Pork Board, said in the Pork Checkoff Foreign Animal Disease Preparation Bulletin. Germany made headlines recently after African swine fever was detected in its wild boars.

“We know feral swine pose a threat to our domestic herd in several ways, and we are committed to working with our government and industry partners to bolster surveillance and testing of the feral herd,” Pyburn said.