Outdoor Pursuits

Few invasive species have risen as quickly as wild pigs in Alberta. Known as feral hogs, wild boar or Eurasian wild pigs, these animals have transformed from an agricultural experiment into a serious invasive species concern. Today, Alberta is taking an aggressive approach to stopping their spread, including restricting hunting and using new technologies like thermal-imaging drones to locate and eliminate entire sounders before they can establish.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Eurasian wild boar were imported into Canada to help diversify the livestock industry. At the time, many producers saw wild boar meat as a lean, gourmet product, and the animals were hardy enough to thrive in Alberta’s harsh winters. But the industry never grew as many had hoped. Instead, markets never developed and many operations closed. During those years, animals escaped from damaged fencing, gates left open, or were intentionally released when they were no longer economically viable to keep. Whether through accident or deliberate release, wild boar found Alberta’s forests, wetlands and farmlands well suited to their survival.

Unlike domestic pigs, Eurasian wild boar have traits that make them exceptionally successful in the wild. Their thick coats allow them to withstand Alberta’s winters, while their intelligence makes them difficult to hunt or trap. They are highly adaptable omnivores, eating everything from crops and roots to insects, eggs, carrion and even young wildlife.

Perhaps their greatest feat is reproduction. Female pigs can begin breeding at only six months of age and are capable of producing multiple litters each year, averaging about six piglets per litter, creating massive population growth.

Wild pigs also live in close-knit family groups called sounders. These groups cooperate in finding food and avoiding danger. But their feeding habits leave a trail of destruction. Using their powerful snouts, wild pigs root through soil in search of food, turning hay fields, pastures and crop land into landscapes similar to freshly tilled gardens. They also alter wetlands and fish habitat by wallowing in ponds and creeks while trampling streambanks, creating erosion. They also eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds and eat amphibians, reptiles and small mammals.

Agriculture suffers as well. Besides crop damage, wild pigs destroy fences, eat livestock feed and occasionally prey upon newborn livestock.

Even more concerning is their ability to carry diseases capable of affecting domestic pigs, wildlife and, in some cases, humans. The threat of diseases such as African Swine Fever entering North America has heightened concern because wild pig populations could serve as reservoirs for transmission should an outbreak occur.

For years hunters were encouraged to hunt wild pigs but research has shown this doesn’t help. When individual pigs are shot or a sounder is only partially removed, the survivors quickly adapt. They become increasingly nocturnal, move into heavier cover, and disperse over larger areas. A fragmented sounder often produces several smaller groups that become even more difficult to locate and remove. Rather than reducing populations, hunting helped spread them. Recognizing this problem, Alberta changed its management strategy. As of December 1, 2025, wild boar are legally classified as agricultural pests. The province also prohibited most public hunting and trapping of wild boar. Today, only landowners or occupants controlling pigs on land they own or occupy, or authorized commercial operators working under permit may legally remove wild pigs. Every pig killed must also be reported.

It is now illegal to establish new wild boar farms or to keep, buy, sell, transport or import live wild boar or wild boar hybrids without authorization. Existing producers were offered options, including a voluntary exit program with compensation or grandfathered operations under strict regulations.

The province’s Wild Boar Control Program emphasizes coordinated surveillance, monitoring and removal of entire sounders. Professional trapping teams work with municipalities, landowners and agricultural organizations to identify pig activity before populations become established.

Technology is playing an increasingly important role. Alberta has begun testing drones equipped with thermal imaging and artificial intelligence capable of detecting wild pigs hidden in dense vegetation or operating after dark. Combined with GPS tracking and other monitoring techniques, these tools allow wildlife managers to locate entire family groups rather than individual animals, greatly improving the odds of complete removal before the pigs disperse.

Although Alberta’s wild pig population remains considerably smaller than those found in parts of the United States, Alberta’s wildlife managers hope to avoid the mistakes made there. Southern states now spend millions of dollars annually trying to control feral hog populations that number in the millions, with agricultural losses measured in the billions. Alberta still has an opportunity to eliminate wild pigs before they become permanently entrenched across the province, causing those same losses here.

Much like elk and deer farms, wild pigs too have become an experiment gone wrong. Unfortunately, I don’t think we have learned from those past mistakes, as the province continues its path towards high-fenced hunting of elk and deer.

For the previous Outdoor Pursuits article, click here.