Wildlife officials on the hunt for wild pigs, begin surveillance program in northwestern Ontario

If you have always wanted to be a spy, but didn't know where to start, the Wild Pig Surveillance Program may be just what you're looking for.

The program, overseen by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, is in its second year and is looking for volunteers to assist with intelligence gathering on the free-ranging swine.

Chosen candidates will setup and monitor supplied trail cameras to detect wild pigs on the landscape.

Brook Schryer, is with the Invading Species Awareness Program. He said they need to have eyes where they don't have any now.

"The northwest represents a gap in terms of surveillance," said Schryer. "We know there's limited populations in Manitoba as well as Minnesota, which we share a border with. So there's always the possibility of wild pigs showing up in those regions."

Schryer noted there are already established populations of wild pigs in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

He said the destruction of habitat the wild pigs can cause is well documented.

"If people have ever looked up examples of wild pig populations in the U.S., they just cause huge environmental damage there, especially to agriculture," he said. "Not to mention just the threat to the wildlife. They would have impacts on white tailed deer. They have impacts on ground birds."

The province of Ontario has determined wild pigs are not only a threat to the province's natural environment, but they also pose a significant risk to other animals by transmitting diseases such as African Swine Fever. On its website, the province said its goal is to reduce the disease risk these animals pose to Ontario's domestic herd and the extensive damage they can do to agricultural crops.

In Ontario, a small number of Eurasian wild boars have been imported and raised as alternative livestock on farms for meat. To protect Ontario's natural environment the government said the Eurasian wild boar industry will be phased out of Ontario by 2024.

Schryer said they are presently gathering survey responses from people looking to volunteer their time. He said the people chosen receive a surveillance kit with a SPYPOINT trail camera.

Volunteers also receive a python lock and lock box, memory cards, batteries, return postage and instructional pamphlets to assist them with choosing a camera location.

"So at the end of the season, they're going to leave all those photos on those memory cards, and ship them ship back to us," said Schryer. "And hopefully,over the course of the season, if they do encounter a wild pig, they will let us know so we can get that information to the province as quickly as possible."

Schryer said those who would like to participate should follow this link and people who take part can also win one of five $100 Canadian Tire gift cards. 

The invading species web page states wild pigs have been introduced outside of their native range through escapes from farms as well as intentional introductions.

The wild pigs mature at six months and can have two litters per year with four to 10 piglets per litter.

This results in exponential growth, and it is suggested that to prevent further growth of an established population, at least 70 per cent of the population would have to be removed every single year.