Source: AgriLife Today
The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, NRI, encourages landowners to report wild pig sightings and damage using a new first-of-its-kind online tool.
“Landowners throughout Texas are constantly seeing wild pigs and their damage,” said Dr. Jim Cathey, associate director of the NRI. “Unfortunately, until now, we didn’t have a good method of collecting the information on where the pigs were sighted and what type of damage they were doing.”
Cathey said the new easy-to-use reporting tool, developed by the institute’s data analytics team, provides a unique portal for Texas landowners and homeowners to note and quickly report such sightings.
“Now instead of hearing wild pig reports by individuals, this new tool will allow landowners to capture the information so it can be used in a statewide database that will allow everyone to really understand the breadth of the wild pig problem across Texas.”
Cathey said it takes only a few minutes for a landowner using the tool to capture data on the wild pigs and includes an option for submitting photos of the animals and/or their damage.
Cathey said data from the submitted reports will be used to support the institute’s outreach efforts and help locate areas of high activity to guide both land management and educational efforts across the state.
He said $52 million annually in damage is tied to agricultural damage and doesn’t tell the type or extent of damage wild pigs may be causing in the more suburban areas of the state.
Cathey said AgriLife Extension county agents have been successful in providing opportunities to relay educational information to landowners about effective wild pig removal and management, which is critical in reducing wild pig populations and improving the water quality of Texas streams.
Additional Information on Wild Pigs
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