The Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program was established by the 2018 Farm Bill to respond to the threat feral swine pose to agriculture, native ecosystems, and human and animal health.
This program aims to collect a comprehensive understanding of the extent and nature of damages related to feral swine experienced by landowners in project areas. To accomplish this, detailed data are to be collected on (1) crops, (2) livestock, (3) property (e.g. fences, implements, roads), (4) crop conversion due to damage, (5) surface damages to land, (6) stored commodities. We also capture landowners’ personal efforts at feral swine damage management by (1) personal damage management, (2) support from Wildlife Services, (3) any revenues derived from feral swine or wildlife, and (4) operational increases (e.g. checking and repairing fences) due to feral swine presence and damage on their property.
The role of TCEL in this project is to coordinate the collection of data and information on the reduction of feral swine damage to agriculture through implementation of the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program across 10 states. TCEL provides training to data collectors across the country to ensure rigorous and standardized data collection.
FSCP colleagues and collaborators can enter their survey data in the Wild Pig Damage Data database.
Please contact Dr. Samantha Leivers (samantha.leivers@ag.tamu.edu) with any problems or to arrange access to the database.
