Feral Hogs Virginia Map

Feral hogs are detrimental to natural habitats and endangered native plant and animal species.

Feral hogs virginia map. According to data collected by joe corn who coordinates feral swine mapping at the southeastern cooperative wildlife disease. The other population is wild boar. Virginia is on the front lines of the northward spread of feral hogs in the eastern united states. There have been sightings not necessarily breeding populations as close by as loudoun county and the threat of a purposeful introduction virtually anywhere is always a possibility.

Feral hogs are four legged ecological disasters earlier this week the 30 50 feral hogs meme swarmed the internet an unexpected by product of the nationwide gun debate. Wild boar occur in the four county area of. Starting in the. Feral swine are an exotic invasive species that are the wild descendants of domestic swine introduced by european explorers in the 16th century.

Notice also the outlier populations like those in michigan virginia pennsylvania and other states. It is a supply and demand system. Commonly known as feral hogs or feral pigs feral swine sus scrofa are not native to west virginia. Feral hog hunting is what is feeding the growing feral hog problem even if hunters have good intentions and desire to help control populations in the name of conservation.

Proctor said a sow. Wild pigs are born in the woods. They multiply fast have few or no natural predators aside from humans and once established are nearly impossible to eradicate. Seventy percent of a population must be removed each year to stabilize growth.

Feral swine are found in small populations scattered around west virginia. They re roaming at least 20 virginia counties including dickenson giles lee russell scott wise and wythe. Interest in hog hunting creates more hogs. Once established as a breeding population feral hogs are nearly impossible to eradicate.

Populations like these were not established through natural hog movements but through transportation and release of feral hogs. Feral pigs are farm escapees living in the wild. The map shows counties with established feral hog populations reported in 1982 blue and more recently 2015 red. In virginia feral hogs have been classified as a nuisance species for quite some time just like coyotes so they can be hunted year round.

We have to suspect that there have been and currently are people moving feral hogs to new areas where feral hogs didn t exist previously and releasing them for sporting hunting purposes a department of game inland fisheries webpage dedicated to the animals. The feral hog population has been on the increase since the mid 1980s. Virginia has some issues with feral swine who are new and particularly unwelcome residents. A population can triple in size in 14 16 months.

Adult feral hogs have no natural predators aside from humans and exhibit very high reproductive potential. Moving feral hogs and releasing them to the wild in virginia is illegal according to the code of virginia and regulations 4vac15 30 20 and 4vac15 30 40. In 2017 a teenager in culpeper shot a 545 pound possibly feral hog that charged him. Notice how hogs have completely filled in almost all deep south states in that time and they ve made much progress in their steady march northward.

Feral swine make up one of the two populations of wild pigs that exist within the state. Although long classified as a nuisance species feral hogs lacked an official definition making hunting them problematic because loose hogs might have owners. If nobody enjoyed hunting them we wouldn t have the growing problem we have today. But in many parts of the country including virginia feral hogs have posed a huge threat to natural habitats and endangered plants and animals according to dgif.