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By Alice McFarlane

Wild pig control program

Alberta’s rat control program could provide guidance to control another Prairie pest

Jan 6, 2026 | 4:39 PM

Alberta’s rat control program could provide a model for the elimination of wild pigs in Canada. This according to Dr. Wayne Lees, the coordinator of Squeal on Pigs Manitoba.

The 2024 Canadian Invasive Wild Pig Report, released in December shows the locations of wild pigs in Canada, including escaped domestic pigs, Eurasian wild boar and their hybrids and identifies field activities.

Lees said the report puts science behind where wild pigs could located so there is a sense of where the hot spots are and where efforts need to be focused.

“We’re learning more and more about where these animals like to live and we’re learning more and more about their habitat and their behaviour,” Lees said. “It lends a lot of credence to our field observations and the fact that we’re not going to get overrun with wild pigs.”

Lees said the wild pig population is quite low but it reinforces the idea that there is an opportunity to control the population and eventually eliminate the pests from Canada.

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“I sort of look to the rat control program in Alberta as a model. Nobody thought that Alberta could become rat free,” he said. “That was started over 50 years ago. They got on it and they were persistent and now Alberta does have that opportunity to maintain a province that is rat free. I think we can do the same in the wild pig scenario as well so that, with diligence, I think we can actually eliminate these animals.”

Lees said it’s increasingly important that we are doing our best to eliminate or reduce the wold pig population.

Anyone looking for information or wishing to report a wild pig sighting should call 1 833 SPOT-PIG or visit squealonpigsmb.org.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com