Free Range Bacon

           The invasion by non-native species in to an ecosystem threatens the biodiversity, human and animal health, and can even have economic impacts in a region.  The development of transportation has created a global world in which organisms are offered an opportunity to reach parts they would never exist in naturally.  We are beginning to understand how fragile the balance of native species in an eco system is after witnessing havoc created by non-native species.

            One of the only invasive mammals found in the Adirondack Park is hard to define as non-native because it essentially escaped from our own backyards.  Popular TV shows such as American Hoggers and Hogs Gone Wild focus on the wild hog issue in the south but many New Yorkers and New Englanders aren’t aware of their presence in the North East.  The hogs terrorizing farmland in the Champlain Valley are escaped livestock, domestic pet pigs, or Eurasian boars, which escaped from hunting reserves (adkinvasives.com).  Populations have increased due to the pigs ability to begin reproducing at 6 months and bearing litters of up to 10 offspring (Foderaro).  As shown in the TV shows on A&E and Discovery the pigs can often be aggressive towards humans, and develop sharp tusks.  The pigs have become pests to local farmers because of their large appetites which they are known for.  Feral pigs will eat almost anything including native vegetation and crops, fawns and domestic livestock, as well as low nesting birds and reptiles (Foderaro).

            Farmers and state officials are eager to eradicate the feral pig population that threatens the already fragile agriculture of the Adirondacks.  The state originally permitted open season for any hunter with a small game license in the state of New York (Foderaro).  The open season policy actually elevated the issue of feral pigs as the pigs were learning from failed trappings of herds and never returning to trap sights again.  The act of hunting the pigs actually further dispersed the population as one or two pigs were being taken down and others were escaping (Foderaro).  The pigs intelligence has forced the DEC and New York State to prohibit feral pig hunting so that they can “ensure maximum effectiveness of DEC’s statewide eradication efforts” (Adirondack Almanac).  While it is a very serious threat to viability of agriculture in New York State, it is hard not to chuckle at the thought of pink pigs running around wreaking havoc and outsmarting hunters and farmers alike in the Adirondack region.

           

Cited

http://adkinvasives.com/

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/05/hunting-or-trapping-of-wild-boars-in-nys-now-prohibited.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/nyregion/feral-pigs-plaguing-upstate-new-york.html?_r=0