There is a rumor among those with opinions and few facts that escaped pet pigs have caused problems for the environment!

There IS a wild hog problem but it didn’t start with pet pigs escaping or being abandoned by owners who no longer wanted them.

First, wild pigs are dangerous. They can be very aggressive, which has always made them good sport for hunting. King Henry VIII suffered a debilitating injury to his leg while boar hunting. It plagued him all his life and he never regained full use of the limb. Many authorities feel it contributed to his many health problems as he got older. It should be noted that European Wild Boars are much larger than those in the US today.

There is a critical wild hog problem in the US. It began in TX, but spread throughout the southern states and they are now ranging north as far as Michigan. Wild hogs are among the most destructive invasive species in the United States today. Two million to six million of the animals are wreaking havoc in at least 39 states and four Canadian provinces; half are in Texas, where they do some $400 million in damages annually. They tear up recreational areas, occasionally even terrorizing tourists in state and national parks, and squeeze out other wildlife. Since they are omnivores, they will kill young deer, small animals and even sometimes invade farms for young sheep, goats and chickens.

But the problem didn’t start with pet pigs.

Hogs, wild or otherwise, are not native to the United States. Christopher Columbus introduced them to the Caribbean, and Hernando De Soto brought them to Florida. Texas’ early settlers let pigs roam free until needed; some were never recovered. During wars or economic downturns, many settlers abandoned their homesteads and the pigs were left to fend for themselves. In the 1930s, Eurasian wild boars were brought to Texas and released for hunting. They bred with free-ranging domestic animals and escapees that had adapted to the wild.

And yet wild hogs were barely more than a curiosity in the Lone Star State until the 1980s. It’s only since then that the population has exploded, and not entirely because of the animals’ intelligence, adaptability and fertility. Hunters found them challenging prey, so wild hog populations were nurtured on ranches that sold hunting leases; some captured hogs were released in other parts of the state. Game ranchers set out feed to attract deer, but wild hogs pilfered it, growing more fecund. Finally, improved animal husbandry reduced disease among domestic pigs, thereby reducing the incidence among wild hogs. Florida quickly realized the profits from game hunting and they too encouraged wild pigs for hunting.

Wild hogs in the US are only about 150-200 lbs and have adapted to a wide range of environments. Some of these may be the basis of the Guinea hogs mentioned in the registration article. Those were also from TX.

Another contribution could be the abandoned pet pigs mentioned in the Babe article. However, if you read that article, they were abandoned because they grew to be full size pigs, far exceeding mini pig size. It is possible that some of these did indeed join wild pigs, but that would depend on the availability of other pigs in the surrounding area. Even these oversize pigs are not the root cause of the wild pig problem.

As far as mini pigs being lost or abandoned and contributing to the problem, that is pure fiction. Mini pigs are so docile that they are easy pray in the wild. They would not be able to hold their own and would not be allowed to join wild pig herds. They would be immediately challenged by established pigs in the wild herd and could not hold their own, either physically or mentally, in a fight.