Louisiana is awarded another $3 million from the federal government to fight feral hogs. Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Dr. Mike Strain says with this grant, the department will focus its efforts in 27 parishes in the Red River Basin and the Mississippi River Basin.
“This will allow us to hold training, to hire technicians to assist the landowners, buy more traps and to engage,” Strain said.
Eurasian hogs are an invasive species – not native to Louisiana. As such, they have no natural predator and can multiply rapidly. Strain says it’s estimated that there are now between 700,000 and 900,000 of them in Louisiana.
“They’re causing tremendous economic damage. They’re causing a lot of biological damage. They’re damaging sustainability and they’re damaging our ecosystems, as well as our watersheds, causing a great deal of runoff,” Strain explained.