A pilot program in the last farm bill included projects in Texas and other states for intense feral hog removal with state and landowner participation. Studies have shown that every dollar spent from the farm bill provides a $5 to $6 benefit to landowners. In the second or third year into the project, farmers often can switch back to corn.

In addition to agricultural losses, feral pigs damage urban areas — golf course, home landscapes, and parks, among other sites. They prey on lambs and kid goats and pass diseases such as swine brucellosis to domestic herds. They can also carry trichinosis, pseudorabies, and African swine fever.

Some Facts:

Feral hog facts from TPWD:

• Recent studies estimate the annual loss to agriculture in Texas is approximately $118.8 million 
• From 1982 to 2016, the wild pig population in the United States increased from 2.4 million to an estimated 6.9 million, with 2.6 million estimated in Texas alone.
• The population in the United States continues to grow rapidly due to feral swine high reproduction rate, generalist diet, and lack of natural predators.
• Wild pigs expanded their range in the United States from 18 States in 1982 to 35 States in 2016.
• Wild pigs have been listed as one of the top 100 worst exotic invasive species in the world.
• In 2007, researchers estimated that each wild pig carried an associated (damage plus control) cost of $300 per year, with an estimated 5 million wild pigs in the population at the time
• Americans spent over $1.5 billion annually in damages and control costs.
• Assuming that the cost-per-wild pig estimate has remained constant, the annual costs associated with wild pigs in the United States are likely closer to $2.1 billion today.
• Annual population control efforts would need to continuously achieve 66% to 70% population reduction just to hold the wild pig population at its current level. Estimates from Texas indicate that current control methods reduce the annual population by approximately 29%.