Whether it be wild boars for crops or the spectre of zebra mussels being the bane of irrigation districts, the Alberta Invasive Species Council are reminding farmers they are here to help.

Established in 2006 as a non-profit organization, AISC focuses on prevention, eradication, containment and mitigation strategies.

“The bottom line of a lot of this is we’re here to save people money. That’s a big part of invasive species. There’s a lot going on in Alberta. We have a lot of challenges,” said George Bloom, an invasive species biologist from the AISC, speaking at the 2026 Irrigated Crop Production Update in Lethbridge.

WHY IT MATTERS: Early detection and prevention of invasive species nets the highest rate of return for agricultural producers, rather than mitigation and containment.

Invasive species have an impact of over $2 billion on Alberta’s economy, affecting 1.3 per cent of GDP. They are the second biggest threat to global diversity and 60 per cent of global species extinctions have been caused solely, or in part due to invasive species. There are 44 species at risk in Canada, which listed invasive plants as factors in their at-risk status.

“We have some really interesting science to back up the effects of these invaders. A lot of the time we’re focused on mitigation and containment strategies, but the best dollar-for-dollar effect we have right now is me standing up here and saying, ‘Hey, if you see something weird, look it up,’” said Bloom.

Producers can use the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS), which is free to download on Android and iPhone. Users can take photos, provide GPS locations and send reports directly from the field. It includes identification tools for various invasive species. Verified reports are sent to local authorities for follow-up.

The Alberta Invasive Species Council looks at plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, mollusks and grasses. Invasive species like flowering rush, oxeye daisies, tall buttercup and zebra and quagga mussels can all affect irrigation systems if unchecked and uncontrolled.

ASIC has various initiatives currently ongoing including: Squeal on Pigs; Rat on Rats; guides on weeds, aquatic invasive species and tree pests; differentiating guides for the public between wild flowers and weeds; and Tank the Goldfish with Don’t Let It Loose campaigns.

ASIC is involved in various other projects, including boat wash stations around Edmonton, environmental DNA monitoring, bio-control research and testing out suction-based technology from Australia for speed production control.

Vectors that bring in invasive species can be numerous, be it cars, trucks, boats, wood packaging, firewood, recreational gear and international releases of horticulture and pets. Bloom unveiled recent incidences including an invasive plant from Australia brought to a store in Calgary in 2024 from a shipment of plants from Miami. In the summer 2025, a giant chocolate slug (Arion rufus) was brought in from the Okanagan where it has been established in British Columbia since the 1940s and are native to Europe.

If something looks off, Bloom encourages producers to record and report, and experts can sort things out later.

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On Dec. 1, 2025, amendments were made to the Pest and Nuisance Control Regulations. New restrictions have been placed on keeping wild boar in captivity and hunting them in the wild.

WHY IT MATTERS: Wild boar at large are a problem across Alberta, but some producers operate wild boar farms in the province.

Wild boar are considered a pest in all circumstances. It is now illegal to keep, import, purchase, obtain, export or sell wild boar. Disposing or transporting wild boar or wild boar hybrids without a permit is also illegal. No new wild boar farms will be permitted in Alberta.

Wild boar are an invasive species, and a provincially regulated agricultural pest in Alberta. They are a Eurasian wild pig that was introduced to the province. Wild boar can also be hybrids created by the mating of wild boar with domestic pigs.

Wild boar were brought to the Prairies in the late 20th century to be raised as livestock. However, many escaped and began establishing feral populations. Wild boar sightings have been common around Mayerthorpe and in the Peace Country. There are currently 12 wild boar farms in Alberta.

Environmental risks and disease threats

The changes have been made due to the dangers posed by existing wild boar populations and risks associated with more escaping from captivity.

The animals can damage crops, property, pastures and the environment, and can be dangerous for both people and animals. They can cause serious damage to land by ripping it up through a process called rooting.

Wild boar can be a serious risk for the introduction and spread of disease, including African swine fever and foot and mouth disease. They go to wetlands to cool off and can contaminate water with various diseases. The animals can cause financial issues for the pork industry, the larger livestock industry and trade deals.

Landowners are required to control or destroy pests and prevent them from establishing themselves on the land.

Hunting restrictions and compensation programs

The only people who can now hunt wild boar are landowners or land occupants who hunt on their own land. Any person who kills a wild boar must report the date, location and number of boar killed to the province as soon as possible.

The province has provided options for wild boar owners to keep their animals under stricter conditions or get compensation from the government to exit the industry. The province will pay $590 per boar, along with a per-linear-foot compensation for fences as part of the Wild Boar exit program.

The compensation program is expected to cost about $2.6 million, with $3 million allotted for wild boar management in this year’s provincial budget.

The animals are active at night and roam through densely forested habitat, so it is hard to do aerial surveys, know how many are active in the province and where they are located. They also have large litters and reproduce quickly.

People who spot wild boar should try to safely take a picture, note the location and fill in the online reporting form.

More information on wild boar can be found at Alberta Invasive Species Council “Squeal on Pigs!”.

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Developed by Invasives Canada, Animal Health Canada and the Invasive Wild Pig Leadership Group, the website, Wild Pigs Canada, was announced on Aug. 20.

“Animal Health Canada is proud to be a collaborator on the new Wild Pigs Canada website that shares information to support the prevention, management and removal of invasive wild pigs from the Canadian website,” said Dr. Leigh Rosengren, industry co-chair on Animal Health Canada’s board of directors in an Aug. 20 news release.

The website represents a team effort across sectors, said Rebecca Lord, executive director of Invasives Canada.

“Wild Pigs Canada is the result of the strong and meaningful co-ordination across sectors and regions, developed through our partnership with Animal Health Canada and the Invasive Wild Pig Leadership Group, and informed by our ongoing work with international partners in the U.S. and Mexico,” Lord said in the release.

Farmers, hunters, hikers and the general public are encouraged to use the website for keeping up to date with information about wild pigs in Canada and to know what to do if one is sighted.

Wild pigs can be destructive to natural habitats and crops and may be a vector for disease.

“Remember, people on the land and out in nature are our first line of defense against invasive species like wild pigs,” said Matt DeMille, executive director of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters in the release.

To learn more or report a sighting, visit WildPigs.ca.

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“The province has ramped up the surveillance of mussels invasive species, which is welcomed news. It is a big issue. Will we be able to keep mussels out of our area forever?” St. Mary’s Irrigation District (SMRID) chair George Lohues said during the organization’s annual general meeting in Lethbridge.

“I just personally can’t see how that is possible. But, we will as long as we can and technology will come along where we can control it within our system.”

The SMRID is Canada’s largest irrigation district, and added 90 parcels heading into the 2025 growing season.

It uses more than 2,000 kilometres of pipes to help supply water to more than half a million acres, which makes zebra mussels a significant threat if the invasive species were to clog up this intricate network.

Zebra mussels can cause millions and even billions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, depending on the scope.

In this year’s budget, the Alberta government committed $18.2 million over five years in the fight against zebra mussels.

Alberta has used the funding to increase its border inspections, increase its number of inspection stations to 11, add two more canine teams and improve its decontamination procedures.

It will be used to fund a tank decontamination pilot project and 14 mobile decontamination systems to improve response times.

Alberta has established the highest fines in North America for failing to comply with inspection requirements, which include $4,200 for failing to stop at an open inspection station and $600 for failing to remove a drain plug when transporting a watercraft.

The province also has an Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force.

“At the SMRID, we are trying to reduce access points to the reservoirs. There’s educational and boat registration campaigns,” said Alex Ostrop, a board member with SMRID and chair of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association.

“We are funding studies for potash treatments to see how that impacts pipelines. It’s definitely a number-one concern that we need to remain vigilant on.”

Ostrop agreed with Lohues’ assessment that zebra mussels will likely break containment into Alberta at some point, but the biggest risks are likely not from international waters but from Manitoba. They have been found in the Great Lakes region, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.

Zebra mussels can be transported in water on boats, in bait buckets or in bilge water.

Adult mussels attach themselves to boat hulls, docks and other equipment that can be transported over land.

They are highly efficient filter feeders, removing phytoplankton from the water, disrupting the food chain and reducing food sources for other organisms.

Along with changing aquatic habitats, the damage to water intake infrastructure can be immense, not only to irrigation districts, but also power plants and water-treatment facilities.

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“They’re native to parts of Europe and they are problematic for a number of reasons,” said Megan Evans, executive director of the Alberta Invasive Species Council.

The species are closely related and very good at reproducing.

“One zebra mussel can produce a million eggs in a season, which is a rapid population growth. A single zebra mussel can filter one litre of water in a day, which takes all the plankton and algae out of the water ecosystem for the native species,” she said.

The mussels also attach to hard surfaces, which could be destructive and costly if they got into Alberta’s irrigation infrastructure. Mussels clump together and can clog infrastructure.

“They just kind of attach on top of each other and completely engulf and submerge any equipment that is around water,” Evans said.

Once they die, mussels wash up on onshore and destroy recreational opportunities.

“After a zebra or quagga mussel infestation, the shore will be covered with sharp mussel shells, and it’s usually quite stinky as they dry and decompose. We want to keep these things out of Alberta. The easiest way to manage them is to prevent them from establishing in the first place.”

The provincial government stepped up its efforts in 2024 and a record number of boats and watercraft were inspected. It added a roving inspection team and launched a multi-phase public awareness campaign to keep the invasive mussels out.

Grant Hunter, MLA for Taber-Warner and parliamentary secretary of agri-food, has been heavily involved with the mussel issue. He said that in 2014, there was a push to keep the mussels out, and 11 inspection stations were established. But as budgets got cut, the number of inspection stations dropped to four.

“Something happened down in Idaho. They had mussel infestations there, and it woke us up and reminded us again that there’s a reason why we want to keep them out.”

Hunter and other members of government have been working with a group of Albertans to ramp up efforts.

“We do need to be vigilant,” he said. “We have 70 per cent of Canada’s irrigation land right here in southern Alberta. We have billions of dollars of infrastructure and if those mussels got in, they would clog up the intakes and clog up those pipes. It would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars to try to mitigate infestation.”

The Alberta Invasive Species task force, of which Hunter is chair, was created to address gaps in the fight against mussels.

“We do have people that are passionate about this. We wanted to bring the brightest minds in Alberta together, trying to figure out some of the big gaps that we have.”

Hunter noted the inadequate number of boat inspection stations was identified as an issue so new locations were established. The task force has seven other recommendations that will be published in an interim report to be released in 2025.

Evans said mussels are most likely to arrive in Alberta by overland transport of boats that have been in infested water bodies. Mussels can attach to boat and water equipment. Microscopic larvae are free-floating in water and can be transported in any standing water or bilge.

“That’s why it is important to have people cleaning, draining and drying their boats,” she said.

Fines for failure to stop at a boat inspection station have increased from $4,200 from $600, the highest in North America. There’s also a $600 fine for failure to pull the bilge pull.

Inspectors at these stations will always ask where the boat has been, to determine the risk. This year, more than 1,300 boats and watercraft were inspected, the highest number since 2019. Evans said watercraft can include motorized or unmotorized vehicles, canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddle boards.

“All of these things are technically required to stop” at inspection stations, she said.

Hunter said the biggest concern is watercraft entering and leaving Alberta on the south and eastern borders.

“You want to boat, you should be thinking of invasive species and how you might be transporting them if you go in or out of the United States or Western Canada,” he said.

Canadian and American groups can work together to stop the spread.

“We do have a harmonization strategy between states and provinces and so that is good,” Hunter said.

Alberta is also watching how various states deal with their zebra and quagga mussel issues.

“I think we’ve got a good strategy. I feel positive about it. I always cross my fingers and hope that we don’t have these species come in because when they do get in, it’s tough to eradicate them. In Canada, we don’t have the same treatment options that they have in the States,” said Hunter.

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The survey intro notes that wild pigs can transmit diseases to a herd and “because pathogens can be transmitted in many ways, it is crucial to understand how wild pigs interact with livestock and how often, and what production practices may influence this.” 

The short survey also aims to document practices to manage wild pigs on farms. The survey is part of a $970,000 research project led by University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine professor Dr. Matthieu Pruvot.

The overall aim is to “mitigate the risks of the expanding population of wild pigs” and “maintain disease-free status requirements for live animal and meat product exports.”

The survey can be found at www.tinyurl.com/yjktuj9w.

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“The program will compensate producers for wild boar damage to eligible unharvested hay crops and eligible annual unharvested crops, wildlife-excreta contaminated crops, stacked greenfeed and silage in pits and tubes,” said Daniel Graham, AFSC’s manager of product knowledge and pricing.

To be eligible, producers have to let provincial wild boar specialists attend their property to “review the damage, provide recommendation to prevent further damage, and to conduct wild boar eradication.”

At least some of those recommendations must be implemented to maintain coverage.

“If a producer has a second claim, the minimum recommendations from the first claim visit must have been implemented in order to be eligible for a full claim,” AFSC said on its website. “If the recommendations have not been followed, no claim will be paid.”

Farmers can’t hunt wild boars on their property or allow others to hunt or trap them, it added.

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The provincial ag ministry announced the moratorium Wednesday and said it’s “developing regulations for licensing existing commercial wild boar farms.”

Regulations for wild boar and feral pigs are also to be developed under the province’s Pest Control Act, the ministry said. Those rules would declare feral pigs to be a regulated pest in the province, and would “specify the various monitoring and control efforts as well as public obligations to report.”

Provincial funding for Saskatchewan Crop Insurance’s feral wild boar control program, which includes surveillance and eradication work, will also be doubled to $200,000, the ministry said.

Agriculture Minister David Marit, in a release Wednesday, described the moves as “substantial steps that improve risk management and protect the resilience and security of our agriculture industry, which is a critical component of our provincial economy.”

The move also follows Ontario’s decisions last fall not only to regulate wild boar as an invasive species, but to phase out the production of farmed wild boar in that province entirely.

Wild boar were introduced in Saskatchewan in the late 1970s as domestic livestock, and over time many of those animals have “escaped and reproduced at a rapid pace,” the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) said in a separate release last month.

SARM — which in its release called for the province to impose a moratorium on new farms — said it now knows of “over 60” southern Saskatchewan RMs “suffering from overpopulated boars.”

Feral pigs now are thus “established within localized regions of the province, including agricultural production areas, and represent a significant problem due to damage caused to hay and crop land and to natural areas, as well as their potential to spread invasive plant species,” the province said Wednesday.

The invasive hogs also “harass” livestock and wildlife, and are considered potential reservoirs for livestock diseases such as African swine fever (ASF), the province said..

A federally reportable disease that hasn’t yet made it to North America, ASF cut into China’s hog herd by as much as half after its arrival there in 2018.

More recently, the disease is believed to have spread to domestic hog herds in several European countries through that continent’s wild boar populations and has turned up in hogs in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

“To this day, wild boar have free rein of rural Saskatchewan land with no predators keeping the population in check,” SARM president Ray Orb said in that group’s release Feb. 17.

“Each year, the risk of transferable disease grows between domestic hogs. We can’t ignore the damaging financial and environmental impact wild boars leave in their wake any longer.”

Sask Pork board chair Toby Tschetter, in a separate release Wednesday, said the province’s planned new regulations “will help protect the provincial hog industry and help us to keep our food supply secure. We encourage farmers, ranchers and the public to use the wild boar reporting services as much as possible.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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“We know globally from a lot of research and monitoring that wild pigs can be very serious reservoirs of disease and hold the disease,” said Ryan Brook, an animal sciences professor at the University of Saskatchewan and expert on wild pigs.

“But also they can spread the disease either by directly contacting animals, but also indirectly through shared feed.”

And even though most commercial pig herds are entirely kept indoors, the threat of disease spread is still there, he said.

“Wild pigs and domestic pigs can interbreed and so wild pigs are attracted to sow barns,” said Brook. “Wild pigs are attracted to the smell of pig manure… and we know that these diseases can be spread through that kind of contact. We really have to look at disease and I think that’s something that should be a priority.”

• IN PHOTOS: Wild pigs a growing threat

Places such as South Korea and parts of the U.S. have already seen issues with porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in wild populations, he noted.

Brook has spent the last 12 years trying to track Canada’s wild pig population and range, and his research has shown an exponentially growing problem on the Prairies, particularly in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

However, there have been numerous confirmed sightings in Alberta, including a band across the north-central region (from the Saskatchewan border to Hinton) as well as parts of the Peace and areas around Red Deer and Calgary. This fall, it was confirmed they had invaded Elk Island national park.

Wild pigs can be highly destructive, tearing up fields with their rooting and damaging waterways. (The animals, which can weigh as much as 250 pounds, need to wallow in order to cool themselves as they have no sweat glands.)

‘Coming right onto farms’

Right now, Manitoba is battling another outbreak of PED and has not gone a year without new cases since it was first detected in 2014.

Should it gain a foothold in the wild pig population, the fight against PED would become significantly more complicated.

In Europe, wild boar have become a vector for African swine fever (ASF). Thousands of wild boar have been found positive for ASF in Poland and now Germany. The first confirmation of an infected wild boar came in September 2020 and since then, well over 2,000 wild animals had been found ASF positive with four east German pig farms reporting infections.

While wild pigs are notoriously elusive, Brook’s team has been gathering data on wild pig occurrences — such as tracks, rooting, trail camera images, and sightings — as well as collaring wild pigs and tracking their movements through GPS, in an effort to get some ballpark idea of population density and range.

That research has found ample evidence of overlap between wild pig range and domestic hog production.

“In some cases, these collared pigs are coming right onto farms,” said Brook, who is advocating for testing of wild populations.

However, there is little point in testing without a strategy to go with it, he added.

“I would not advocate running out and testing a bunch of samples until there are plans,” he said. “How do we respond if something is found?”

Hunting doesn’t work as it scatters the animals that aren’t killed, resulting in more groups (called sounders) being formed. Instead, the entire sounder must be captured — a laborious process that requires setting up a corral, baiting them with feed, waiting for the group to become accustomed to the trap, and then closing the gate remotely (by operators using webcams) when an entire sounder is present.

But a wild pig strategy must look beyond eradication, and start turning to tools like zoning, said Brook. For example, major pork-producing regions would be a high-value area to protect.

“We know the pigs are spreading,” he said. “We know that they interact with farms and it’s just a matter, I think, of really thinking hard about what are our options around getting ahead of this.

“It’s always cheaper and much more effective to be proactive and in front of this than trying to play catch-up after.”

If you spot wild boar or evidence of their presence (such as tracks, damage from rooting/wallowing or boar hair caught on barbed wire), you should report it by emailing af.wildboar@gov.ab.ca or calling 310-3276 (FARM). If possible take a photo.

The Alberta Invasive Species Council has also launched a Squeal on Pigs program with more information and resources. It can be found at abinvasives.ca/squeal-on-pigs.

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