A new Squeal on Pigs app allows you to report damage from invasive wild pigs with your smart phone – then get help eliminating them from your property.
The app is part of an ongoing effort to rid the state of these destructive animals.
“Our goal is to eradicate wild pigs from Kentucky in the next 5 to 7 years,” said Terri Brunjes, wild pig biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We can do this with a sound eradication plan, which has allowed us to eradicate several populations in the state.”
Brunjes said the Squeal on Pigs app is a citizen-science reporting tool used to track the invasive wild pigs in the United States and Canada. Instructions to download the app are available on the Wild Pig page of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website at fw.ky.gov.
Brunjes said the signs of wild pigs damage are obvious. “Wild pigs leave behind large swaths of rooting,” she said. “It looks like garden tilling. They use their snouts to plow the ground.”
Wild pigs also create large wallows that quickly become muddy, disturbed bogs. “They wallow in mud for parasite removal and cooling,” Brunjes said. “You can see mud rubs on trees near the wallows.”
Landowners can use the Squeal on Pigs app to upload photographs of wild pigs or their signs to report them. Brunjes will study the photos and determine if there are wild pigs present. If confirmed, she will set up a trapping effort to remove the wild pigs.
Landowners are in control of the process. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will only dispatch trappers if they are wanted, Brunjes said. It generally takes one to two weeks to remove an established group of adult pigs and their offspring, called a sounder.
Those encountering problems with wild pigs can also report activity on “Squeal on Pigs” on the Wild Pig page at fw.ky.gov or by calling the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife information center at 1-800-858-1549.
Posters and stickers are also being distributed that have a QR code for downloading the Squeal on Pigs app.
