Packs of wild hogs from Canada appear to be edging closer to the US border — and wildlife officials are squealing over the ecological nightmare they could cause, according to a report.
Feral boar sightings are spiking near the Montana border as the aggressive, sometimes disease-carrying invaders move south, US Department of Agriculture officials warned, according to the Daily Inter Lake newspaper.
“Multiple people say that if we were to design an invasive species that would do the most widespread damage, feral swine aren’t too far off from being the perfect specimen,” Dale Nolte of the USDA’s National Feral Swine Program told the newspaper. “[More coming] would be a disaster.”
In total, at least eight of the wild hogs were discovered in Canada directly above Montana’s Lincoln County over the summer, the paper reported.
Along with breeding like bunnies, the sharp-tusked swine root and wallow in farms, fields and forests — destroying huge swaths of land along the way.
They move quickly and carry diseases such as African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease, which could spread to other animals.
Each year, the pugnacious porkers cause about $1.5 billion in damage in the US, according to the USDA.
More than 6 million feral swine can already be found in 32 states in the US, the agency said.
Last month, a tweet from an Arkansas resident, about dozens of wild boar invading his yard went viral.
“Legit question for rural Americans — How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?” he asked.
Country-livin’ observers suggested everything from poison to semi-automatic weapons.