Iowa’s the leader in national pork production — but there’s one group of hogs the Department of Natural Resources is trying to eradicate. Al Foster of the Iowa D-N-R says a group of wild hogs has been causing trouble in in southwest Iowa. He says they’re around the Green Hollow Wildlife area in Fremont County. He says they believe the hogs got away from a private wildlife hunting area. Foster says the pigs are prodigious breeders and have an appetite for anything in their path. He says they wiped out a 27 acre corn patch at the wildlife area. He says they also ate all the vegetation in a large area of a nearby woodland. He says their big appetites aren’t the only worry, they can carry disease and be aggressive if protecting their babies. Foster says the D-N-R has been trapping the wild hogs — because they’re very smart. He says if you hunt them and shoot one– the others know enough to move out of the area to somewhere safer. Foster says they’ve made some headway in getting rid of the wild hogs.Foster says it’s hard to tell how many hogs are out there because they produce big liters, and the sows are ready to reproduce by the time they’re six months old.

Radio Iowa