An online forum held Thursday looked at the growing problem of wild pigs in California and how to lessen the danger and damage they are bringing around the state.
Up to 400,000 non-native wild pigs are believed to be in the state, with the animals having been found in 56 of its 58 counties, according to an opening presentation at the forum organized by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state's Fish and Game Commission.
Matt Sharp Cheney, a resource management specialist with the Bay Area-based Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, called the wild pigs"biological rototills" since they use their powerful snout, tusks and hooves to dig up soil as they forage for food, damaging vineyards, other farmlands and wildlands in the process.
State legislation attempting to take on the wild pig problem is awaiting the signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Senate Bill 856, introduced by state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would loosen regulations and lower hunting fees for killing the feral hogs -- including allowing someone to kill an unlimited number of pigs and prohibiting someone from intentionally releasing a pig to live in the wild.
Roger Baldwin, a professor at University of California, Davis specializing in human-wildlife conflict, said some other states don't allow wild pig hunting at all, saying they found the amount of pigs grew and they popped up in new places because people were transporting the animals around for hunting opportunities.
The state's ongoing drought is also exacerbating the problem by causing the pigs to go into more urban areas to find water and food, according to Chris Lopez, a member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and of the Rural County Representatives of California.