'Feral Swine Bomb' In Bay Area Targeted By New Hunting Bill

NAPA, CA — New legislation is intended to open up hunting in California to take on a scourge of large, feral pigs that have devastated lawns, golf courses, baseball and soccer fields, and possibly soiled drinking water and spoiled harvests at Napa vineyards.

The pigs have caused so much damage that federal officials fear the pigs are a ticking time bomb and will do more of the same across states in the North and West.

"I’ve heard it referred to as a feral swine bomb," Dale Nolte, manager of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told The Atlantic in September 2020. "They multiply so rapidly. To go from a thousand to two thousand, it’s not a big deal. But if you’ve got a million, it doesn’t take long to get to 4 [million], then 8 million."

All but two of California's 58 counties have wild pigs, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. They're found in a variety of habitats ranging from woodland and chaparral to meadow and grassland. They also eat both plants and other animals, but in general feed on grass, fruits and roots.

Some municipalities spend over $100,000 a year fighting the swine, including Lafayette, where a licensed trapper is tasked with culling swine. And some states have completely eradicated their feral pig populations, such as New York, New Jersey and Maine, Michael Marlow, acting program manager of the federal National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, told the Times.

Even so, dozens of states still have them. But one California bill seeks to change that.

How California Became 'Hog Heaven'

While hunters embrace the animals, residents aren't usually pleased to find hillsides that look like they've been "worked over with a rototiller." Hungry pigs are known to root along rivers and streams, and cause erosion.

Jennifer Beretta, president of Sonoma County Farm Bureau, said the feral pig population in Sonoma County has gotten to an "alarming number."

“These unmanageable herds are tearing up working lands, competing with less aggressive wildlife for food, and rutting the landscape to the point of degraded water quality," she said in a statement.

While they weren't always here, they've been here a long time. And interbreeding has helped the animals grow and breed more often.

Wild pigs are descendants of the European wild boar and were introduced in California in the 1920s in Monterey County. And European settlers imported domestic swine as far back as the 1700s, where the animals were known to forage freely. Eventually, those free-range foragers became semi-wild, or “feral.” They eventually bred with European boars, and the modern California wild pig is considered a hybrid of the two.

The pigs have varying physical features, depending on the part of the state. Some have long hair and snouts; small, erect ears; and the angular shaped bodies of their wild boar ancestors. Others have short hair and long floppy ears, and a more barrel-shaped body.

The pigs can also range in color from solid black to a more reddish hue, or even striped, grizzled or spotted.

Ryan Brook, a biologist at the University of Saskatchewan who studies the swine, said there's a problem with these hybrid animals — they're genetically superior.

"It creates what we’d call super-pigs," he told The Atlantic.

Domestic pigs are bred so that they're fertile all year and have large litters — about 10 in each. And with heavier fur, boars are hardier against the colder winter season. Both are smart and have a sharp sense of smell.

California Lawmaker Takes Aim At Wild Pigs

On Jan. 19, state Sen. Bill Dodd, a Democrat who represents the 3rd Senate District, proposed a bill aimed squarely at the pesky pigs. His district includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties.

“Unfortunately, swelling numbers of wild pigs have become a scourge on California wildlands, endangering sensitive habitats, farms and other animals,” Dodd said in a news release announcing the legislation. "They also present a major public health risk and have been linked to outbreaks of food-borne illness."

If passed, his bill would ban people from releasing feral hogs, boars, pigs or swine into public or private land. It would also replace tagging requirements for wild pigs with a validation that would allow Californians to buy a pig hunting license for $15. Out-of-staters could buy a license for $50.

"All year long you will be able to hunt as many pigs as you want," Sklar told The New York Times.

But the pigs can be wily and have been known to change their habits with more hunting. As with all game species, wild pigs tend to change their behavior as hunters up the pressure.

"Where hunting is infrequent, wild pigs may be active during the day," according to the state's Wild Pig Management Program website. "With moderate hunting, pigs tend to bed down around sunrise and become active again in late afternoon. In areas with heavy hunting pressure pigs are generally active only at night."

And depending on how many pigs live in an area, some will leave once hunting becomes severe.