File photo of a wild boar crossing a road in Sweden. (Ockra/iStock/Getty Images)

Swine fever detected in Sweden for first time

Recent outbreak in Balkans spurred culls

Stockholm | Reuters — A dead wild boar in Sweden has tested positive for African swine fever, Sweden’s Veterinary Institute said on Wednesday, the first such case in the country. African swine fever is harmless to humans but is highly contagious and deadly in domestic pigs and wild boars. It has spread from Africa to […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Anti-ASF funds designated for Manitoba Pork

Three initiatives will be funded through the federal African swine fever preparedness program

The Manitoba Pork Council’s efforts against African swine fever now have almost $1 million in extra financial padding. On Aug. 3, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced $944,340 in funding for Manitoba’s hog farm group. Funds were provided through AAFC’s African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program and were slotted for three initiatives: Squeal on Pigs, increased […] Read more


A wild boar running from danger, autumn colours behind him

Survey aims to keep tabs on wild pigs

Reading Time: < 1 minute If you’ve seen wild pigs on your cattle operation, researchers at the University of Calgary want to hear from you. 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 […] Read more

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

Wildlife compensation program now covers damage by wild boars

Reading Time: < 1 minute The growing threat of wild boars in Alberta has prompted Agriculture Financial Services Corporation to include the invasive species in its Wildlife Damage Compensation Program. “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,” […] Read more



A group of wild boars running in Europe, where the pigs have caused challenges with disease spread. (iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan to license, limit wild boar farming

Moratorium placed on any new farms

Saskatchewan is tightening its rules on wild boar farming, including a moratorium on any new farms, in a renewed bid to keep the province’s feral pig population in check. 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 […] Read more



A group of wild boars running in Europe, where the pigs have caused challenges with disease spread. (iStock/Getty Images)

Ontario moves to phase out wild boar farming

Province, feds fund swine fever defense plans

Hoping to improve its odds against African swine fever ever getting a toehold in Canada’s hog herds, Ontario plans to regulate Eurasian wild boar as an invasive species starting in the new year. To that end, the province is making funding available to farmers who actively breed and raise wild boar to “shift to other […] Read more


File photo of domestic hogs on a German farm. (FooTToo/iStock/Getty Images)

Germany reports first suspected case of African swine fever

German producers currently exporting pork to China

Berlin | Reuters — Germany’s ministry of food and agriculture said on Wednesday it had a suspected case of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the eastern state of Brandenburg. The suspected case concerned a wild boar carcass found near the German-Polish border. A sample of the carcass was being taken for […] Read more

This 2016 photo showing feral and domestic pigs mingling is from www.wildpigscanada.ca, a website created by the University of Saskatchewan’s Wildlife Ecology and Community Engagement research group headed by Ryan Brook. The website has information on characteristics and behaviour, signs of the animals’ presence, and control methods.

Wild pig problem in the spotlight at pork conference

The number of feral pigs is growing here and playing a key role in the African swine fever epidemic elsewhere

Reading Time: 4 minutes (Editor’s note: The following is an abridged and edited version of two articles. The full versions can be found at meristem.com by clicking on the 2020 Banff Pork Seminar link.) Two presentations at the 2020 Banff Pork Seminar highlighted the threat posed by wild boars. Ryan Brook, a University of Saskatchewan associate professor and wildlife […] Read more