Geauga County: Wild boar species may be here now

5:58 PM, Jun 14, 2012   |    comments
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Here at New Creation Farm in Geauga County, they pasture raise pigs.

Most of their breeds are Berkshire, but they do have some Berkshire-Tamworth cross.

But it looks like there's a new breed in the neighborhood.

WKYC Photojournalist Carl "Big Daddy" Bachtel brings you the story.

There was a roadkill pig in Geauga County and by the looks of it, it was a wild or feral pig.

Anywhere that they're found wild in the United States, they're considered an invasive species and they're highly destructive, doing a billion dollars in property damage annually.

They use their snouts and tusks in the same way as this domestic breed, to tear up the ground and "root" for food. Wild pigs also carry diseases that could affect pets, livestock and native game species.

Here in Ohio, they're mostly seen in the southern part of the state. But wildlife officials have a tough time tracking them.

The hogs themselves are always moving and they don't set up a specific territory where they stay in.

The New Creation free-range pigs are big part of the family income.

Preventing the wild pig menace from spreading anywhere in the state is a concern to authorities.

Officials say they look at them more as a nuisance animal than a game species and people should treat them that way.

They would like to erradicate them from the state if at all possible.


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