NEW ORLEANS — A preservative used to cure bacon is being tested as poison for the nation’s estimated 5 million feral hogs.
Descendants of both escaped domestic pigs or imported Eurasian boars, the swine cost the U.S. about $1.5 billion a year — including $800 million in damage to farms nationwide.
Hunting and trapping won’t do the trick for these big, wildly prolific animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked off a $20 million program this year to control feral swine, which has spread from 17 states in 1982 to 39 now.
Sodium nitrite, which is far more toxic to pigs than people, is used in Australia and New Zealand to kill feral swine. USDA scientists say it might be the best solution in the U.S., but they’re not yet ready to ask for federal approval as pig poison.
The USDA program, which began in April, includes $1.5 million for the research center headquartered in Fort Collins. Its scientists have made sodium-nitrite studies a top priority.
Baits so far haven’t hit the 90 percent kill rate on penned pigs needed for Environmental Protection Agency consideration. Once it does, approval could take up to five years, a USDA biologist said.
