Exploding wild pig population on western Canadian prairie threatens to invade northern US states

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana and other northern states are making preparations to stop an invasion of wild pigs from Canada. Wild pigs already cause around $2.5 billion in damage to U.S. crops every year, mostly in southern states like Texas. But the exploding population of feral swine on the prairies of western Canada is threatening spill south. Worse, wild pigs roaming Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are often crossbreeds that combine the survival skills of wild Eurasian boar with the size and high fertility of domestic swine to create a “super pig” that’s spreading out of control. So northern states want to keep them out.