{"id":30448,"date":"2020-10-04T14:24:23","date_gmt":"2020-10-04T18:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=30448"},"modified":"2020-10-04T14:24:23","modified_gmt":"2020-10-04T18:24:23","slug":"check-out-this-explosion-of-super-pigs-occurring-nationwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=30448","title":{"rendered":"Check out this explosion of super-pigs occurring nationwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Out Of Control” Super-Pig Population Is Spreading Rapidly Across US<\/h1>\n

ZeroHedge.com<\/p>\n

The U.S. wild pig population is rapidly increasing across the country, which has been characterized as a ticking “feral swine bomb,” according to a new report.<\/p>\n

“I’ve heard it referred to as a feral swine bomb,”\u00a0Dale Nolte, manager of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program (NFSP) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), told\u00a0The Atlantic<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nolte said, “they\u00a0multiply so rapidly. To go from a thousand to two thousand, it’s not a big deal. But if you’ve got a million, it doesn’t take long to get to 4 [million], then 8 million.”<\/p>\n

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Feral swine have caused\u00a0significant damage\u00a0to property, agriculture (crops and livestock), native species, and ecosystems, with an estimated damage cost of upwards $2.5 billion per annum. The hogs have a reputation for carrying at least\u00a030 viral and bacterial diseases and at least 40 parasites.<\/p>\n

Ryan Brook, a University of Saskatchewan biologist who researches feral pigs, estimates these highly\u00a0invasive species will\u00a0occupy 386,000 square miles across the country by the end of 2020. At the moment, the hogs are expanding\u00a0at about 35,000 square miles per\u00a0year.<\/p>\n

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Brook said many of the wild pigs are a crossbreed between domestic ones and\u00a0European wild boar:<\/p>\n

“The problem with the hybrids is you get all of the massive benefits of all of that genetics…\u00a0It creates what we’d call super-pigs.,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Nolte, these super pigs are\u00a0highly intelligent and have a good sense of smell, along with a shield of bone, up to 2 inches thick, around their shoulders, which offers some protection against\u00a0small-caliber bullets.<\/p>\n