SARM wants moratorium on wild boar farming in Sask. to manage 'invasive beasts'

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities is calling for a moratorium on wild boar farming, saying the boars tend to escape and become "invasive beasts."

The association says that over 60 rural municipalities in southern Saskatchewan suffer from an overpopulation of wild boars.

"They do destroy crops. They also do damage to native pastures," said Ray Orb, the association's president. And that's on top of damage from a severe drought last year, he said.

"We've seen the evidence in other jurisdictions where the damage [from boars] has been quite severe," he said.

"Somehow, there needs to be better control of these animals as well. So that's something we need to talk to the province about."

In a Thursday press release, SARM said that the wild boars, which are not native to Canada, made their way into Saskatchewan in the late 1970s as domestic livestock. Over time, many escaped and reproduced at a rapid pace.

This invasive species now roams freely.

This isn't the first time the rural municipalities association has called for a moratorium on wild boar farming. Orb said it has been doing so since 2019, but no provincial action has been taken. 

In 2016, provincial wildlife regulations were amended to allow hunters to hunt feral wild boars year-round without a licence, according to SARM. But Orb said wild boar are difficult to hunt, and the population is continuing to spread. 

Disease is another concern, he said.

"We know some of these feral boars do carry diseases, and it would be devastating if some disease was transferred to a domestic hog farm … and we have several of them in Saskatchewan."

Number of farms unknown

Ryan Brook has studied wild pigs in Saskatchewan for over 12 years. He's an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan and the director of the Canadian Wild Pig Research Project.

"Invasive wild pigs are listed as one of the worst invasive species on the planet for a reason — because they reproduce really, really quickly," said Brook.

He said boars can have six young per litter, and usually have multiple litters per year. He said they have been spreading out of control across the Prairie provinces, particularly in Saskatchewan. 

"[They cause] crop damage, environmental impacts. And they can be aggressive and can be a public health hazard as well. So they just check every box as just the absolute worst invasive species that you can imagine."

Brook said wild boar farms are unregulated and unmonitored in Saskatchewan. 

"The reality is that no one knows how many farms there are out there. You can go on Kijiji and buy some wild boar type animals ... and all of a sudden, magically, you're in the wild pig business," said Brook. 

Brook said he is aware of over a dozen wild boar farms in the province. There are two types of wild boar farms.

"There's what we would call a meat farm, which is primarily, obviously, producing meat for restaurants and for consumers. And then these types of what we call a high-fence shoot operation, which is designed to specifically allow people to go in and shoot a pig."

Brook said that many pigs escape, or owners simply let them go — and the problem is expanding.

"We haven't seen a whole lot of immediate action on that, and we still have those wild boar farms," he said.

"There are some options here. Removing them is one. Another one would be to have very high fencing standards and have monitoring." 

Province acknowledges concerns, downplays impact

In a statement from a Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson, the province confirms invasive boars damage crops and act as reservoirs for disease. It says it's aware of SARM's request for a moratorium and will consider it as discussions continue.

It goes on to note, however, that in the last two years, the crop insurance program has paid out $47, 000 for 13 wild boar claims, while the 5-year average compensation due to wildlife is $25 million.

Also, hundreds have been removed in eradication programs — 672 over the last 5 years. There have been 22 sightings reported since March of 2021: 4 domestic pig sightings, 13 confirmed wild boar sightings and 5 classified as unknown.