South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force
South Carolina has experienced a dramatic increase in the distribution and abundance of wild hogs over the recent decades, leading to an increase in the damage these animals cause to natural, agricultural, and developed landscapes. These expanding populations are causing economic and environmental damage that that warrants control.
Wild hogs have been reported in every county in the state and the population is estimated to number approximately 138,000 individuals. Estimates for yearly crop and non-crop damage combined with the expenses of controlling these animals is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Considering the potential impacts that wild hogs have on the natural landscape and native species, in addition to the threat that wild hogs pose to the state’s livestock industry through the spread of zoonotic diseases, the economic impacts of wild hogs could likely be much higher.
The South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force was established to coordinate educational, research and management efforts to reduce the problems associated with wild hogs in the Palmetto State.
