Wild pigs are known to be an agricultural pest, but few studies have been done to quantify wild pig damage to corn and the landscape characteristics that are conducive to this damage. In the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, only 15 of the 125 sampled corn fields were damaged (12%). Using yield estimates, input costs and hectares of crop lost, this study concluded that wild pigs cause US$1,753 of damage per hectare. The proportion of corn that was planted within selected buffer scales consistently had a negative effect on whether a field would be damaged. The proportion of soybean planted within the buffer, and the proportion of disturbance had negative impacts on whether a field would be damaged. At multiple buffer scales, the proportion of shrub/scrub, adjacent crops and forest had negative effects on the amount of damage seen in a damaged field.

The legislative procedures regarding wild pigs in the United States are expanding in scope and priority, however, the uniformity of legislation is entropic at best. Each state addresses the issues of wild pigs differently and treatment is based on a priority of resource concerns. An evaluation was conducted at the national level of federal, state, and local policy with regards to wild pig control. Additionally, successful and unsuccessful legislation is evaluated to determine commonalities in the social, economic, and ecological factors contributing to the success or failure of legislation. Information collected provides state legislatures with sample model legislation that can be passed with the support of stakeholders and the citizenry, as well as help guide states into a more uniform system of policy. Furthermore, it provides states without, or with low populations of wild pigs, a proactive suite of legislation to prevent further spread and facilitate eradication of localized populations.

Numerous trap designs have been used in efforts to capture wild pigs (Sus scrofa); however, drop-nets have never been examined as a potential tool for wild pig control. I implemented a 2-year study to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of an 18.3 x 18.3 m drop-net and a traditional corral trap for trapping wild pigs. In spring 2010, treatment units were randomly selected and multiple trap sites were identified on 4,047 ha in Love County, Oklahoma. Trap sites were baited with whole corn and monitored with infrared-triggered cameras during pre-construction and capture periods. Unique pigs using trap sites were identified 5 days prior to trap construction and used in mark-recapture calculations to determine trap effectiveness. Three hundred fifty-six pigs were captured in spring of 2010 and 2011. I documented maximum captures of 27 and 15 pigs with drop-nets and corral traps, respectively. I removed 86 and 49% of the unique pigs from treatment units during the course of the study using drop-nets and corral traps, respectively. Catch per unit effort was 1.9 and 2.3 h/pig for drop-nets and corral traps, respectively. Wild pigs did not appear to exhibit trap shyness around drop-nets, which often facilitated the capture of entire sounders in a single drop. Use of drop-nets also eliminated capture of non-target species. During my study, damage by wild pigs was reduced by 90% across the study area, verifying control reduces damage on native rangelands. Population monitoring for pseudorabies virus, brucellosis, and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome resulted in exposure rates of 24, 0.4, and 0.4%, respectively. Removal of wild pigs reduced rooting damage and probability of encountering pig borne diseases of importance to livestock and human health. My research confirms drop-nets can be an effective tool for removal of wild pigs.

Damage caused by wild boar (Sus scrofa) are long-term challenge facing the farming practice in the Czech Republic. There are several methods for detection of damage, which are more or less suitable for practical use. Focus of this work was to assess the damage deer by the most appropriate methods in the area of interest during one season. In the literature review are analyzed the used methods for game damage assessment in the CR and neighboring countries. Comparisons in seasons in this context include economically quantified losses of individual farmers, in selected agricultural crops.

O interesse por espécies animais não convencionais, para a suplementação de proteína animal, é crescente, particularmente nos países africanos e asiáticos, porém, a utilização dessas fontes de alimento ainda é pouco documentada e quase não se sabe sobre as condições microbiológicas das carnes disponíveis para consumo. Este estudo avaliou as condições microbiológicas das carnes de capivara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris), cateto (Tayassu tajacu) e javali (Sus scrofa scrofa) in natura comercializadas no Brasil, município de São Paulo. Um total de vinte e sete amostras de carne de capivara, cateto e javali foram analisadas em laboratório e verificado o grau de contaminação por mesófilos aeróbios totais, psicrotróficos, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium sulfito-redutores, coliformes totais e fecais e Salmonella. 22% das amostras de carne de cateto apresentaram-se impróprias para o consumo humano devido à presença de Salmonella. 11% das amostras das carnes de capivara e javali e 22% das amostras de cateto apresentaram contagens elevadas de S. aureus, maiores que o limite máximo estabelecido pela resolução RDC nº12 da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) de 02 de janeiro de 2001, para produtos cárneos crus, resfriados ou congelados, uma vez que a resolução não cita tais padrões para carne in natura. Por apresentarem contagem de S. aureus superiores aos padrões estabelecidos, tais amostras são consideradas em condições higiênico-sanitárias insatisfatórias. A análise estatística descritiva apresentou um elevado coeficiente de variação entre as 9 amostras analisadas para cada tipo de carne. Esse alto grau de variação mostra que as condições microbiológicas das amostras não apresentaram uniformidade no decorrer das análises. / The interest for non-conventional animal species, for the supplementation of animal protein is growing, although this food source is little documented. This study has evaluated the microbiological conditions of capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris), collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) and wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) raw meat sold in São Paulo city. A total of twenty-seven samples were evaluated in a laboratory to find out the contamination value by: mesophiles aerobic, psychrotrophs, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium sulfito-redutores, coliforms group and Salmonella. 22% of collared peccary meat samples were improper to human consumption due to the Salmonella presence. 11% of the samples of the capybara meats and boar and 22% of the collared peccary samples presented high counting of S. aureus, larger than the maximum limit established by the resolution RDC nº12 of the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA) of January 02, 2001, for raw meat products, colds or frozen, once the resolution doesn't mention such patterns for raw meat. These samples showed unsatisfactory hygenic-sanitary conditions by presenting S. aureus counting higher than the maximum limit.

These days, wild pig, or wild boar, causes considerable damage in the Czech Republic, but also in other countries of almost the whole of Europe. The thesis describes the issues of damage done by the wild pig and the protective measures against this damage. The basis of the thesis was to measure the areas of damaged vegetation of unbearded and bearded varieties of wheat. Damaged areas on individual fields of both varieties were then compared with each other and evaluated. The choice of a variety, as an agro-technological measure against damage done by wild pigs, showed to be very effective. The damages that the wild pig did in unbearded varieties were not done in bearded ones.

O interesse por espécies animais não convencionais, para a suplementação de proteína animal, é crescente, particularmente nos países africanos e asiáticos, porém, a utilização dessas fontes de alimento ainda é pouco documentada e quase não se sabe sobre as condições microbiológicas das carnes disponíveis para consumo. Este estudo avaliou as condições microbiológicas das carnes de capivara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris), cateto (Tayassu tajacu) e javali (Sus scrofa scrofa) in natura comercializadas no Brasil, município de São Paulo. Um total de vinte e sete amostras de carne de capivara, cateto e javali foram analisadas em laboratório e verificado o grau de contaminação por mesófilos aeróbios totais, psicrotróficos, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium sulfito-redutores, coliformes totais e fecais e Salmonella. 22% das amostras de carne de cateto apresentaram-se impróprias para o consumo humano devido à presença de Salmonella. 11% das amostras das carnes de capivara e javali e 22% das amostras de cateto apresentaram contagens elevadas de S. aureus, maiores que o limite máximo estabelecido pela resolução RDC nº12 da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) de 02 de janeiro de 2001, para produtos cárneos crus, resfriados ou congelados, uma vez que a resolução não cita tais padrões para carne in natura. Por apresentarem contagem de S. aureus superiores aos padrões estabelecidos, tais amostras são consideradas em condições higiênico-sanitárias insatisfatórias. A análise estatística descritiva apresentou um elevado coeficiente de variação entre as 9 amostras analisadas para cada tipo de carne. Esse alto grau de variação mostra que as condições microbiológicas das amostras não apresentaram uniformidade no decorrer das análises. / The interest for non-conventional animal species, for the supplementation of animal protein is growing, although this food source is little documented. This study has evaluated the microbiological conditions of capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris), collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) and wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) raw meat sold in São Paulo city. A total of twenty-seven samples were evaluated in a laboratory to find out the contamination value by: mesophiles aerobic, psychrotrophs, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium sulfito-redutores, coliforms group and Salmonella. 22% of collared peccary meat samples were improper to human consumption due to the Salmonella presence. 11% of the samples of the capybara meats and boar and 22% of the collared peccary samples presented high counting of S. aureus, larger than the maximum limit established by the resolution RDC nº12 of the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA) of January 02, 2001, for raw meat products, colds or frozen, once the resolution doesn't mention such patterns for raw meat. These samples showed unsatisfactory hygenic-sanitary conditions by presenting S. aureus counting higher than the maximum limit.

Among exotic species that are capable of invading, establishing, and reaching pest status, few pose the range of impacts to biotic (e.g., competition with native species, predation, herbivory, introduction of other exotics) and abiotic (e.g., soil, hydrology) ecosystem components that can be attributed to the wild pig (Sus scrofa). Despite the presence of wild pigs throughout the southeastern United States for centuries, new invasions continue to occur in previously uninhabited and often under-investigated landscapes, including bottomland and upland forests. The recent invasion of the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (hereafter, NNWR) in east-central Mississippi represents an opportunity to understand not only a species invasion during an emergent stage, but also to improve and better inform the methods used to combat such species in forested landscapes. In recent years, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has begun to observe direct impacts to this ecologically sensitive area which is critically important to not only migratory waterfowl but also a multitude of other faunal (e.g., amphibians, reptiles, and avian species of concern) and floral species. As a result, identifying wild pig spatial distributions (e.g., movements, occurrence) and estimating wild pig abundance in the NNWR have each increased in priority. My dissertation research has facilitated an improved understanding of how wild pigs have invaded this novel landscape through investigations of space use, abundance, and occurrence, and will better inform and improve efficiency of future monitoring and control efforts. Understanding how this wild pig invasion relates to the NNWR landscape may also provide information that can be used to better address wild pig invasions of similar landscapes, with added value for those that are similarly characterized by sensitive ecosystems (i.e., managed for migratory waterfowl, species of concern) that are currently faced with this emerging threat. Given the universality of many of the methodological approaches undertaken in this effort, this multifaceted investigation also provides broader implications for other landscapes and exotic species of interest.