Wild boar were brought from Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s to diversify Canadian livestock production. Others were imported as ‘penned game’ for shooting.

Spread of wild pigs across Canada is emerging crisis for agriculture and environment

UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN-NEWS RELEASE 10-MAY-2019

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/uos-wpi051019.php

====—————————————————

Their maps, published alongside the USask research, show that wild pigs are now firmly established in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, with populations scattered in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

====—————————————————

Wild pigs invade Canadian provinces–an emerging crisis for agriculture and the environment

Wild pigs–a mix of wild boar and domestic swine–are spreading rapidly across Canada, threatening native species such as nesting birds, deer, agricultural crops, and farm livestock, research by the University of Saskatchewan (USask) shows.

The first-ever published survey of the wild pig distribution in Canada has found a rapid expansion in the invasive species’ range, which is increasing by nine per cent a year.