A group of scientists led by James Beasley (right) has a plan for gaining control of wild pigs, an invasive species numbering between 5 and 6 million in the United States that causes more than $1.5 billion in damage annually to property, agriculture, natural resources and cultural artifacts, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Beasley heads a research subcommittee of the National Wild Pig Task Force, and he presented the group’s recommendations in a study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management. “The goal is to reduce damages,” says Beasley, assistant professor at the Savannah River Ecology Lab and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. “This template is a mechanism to get us there, hopefully within the next five to 10 years.”
This brief appeared in the fall 2018 issue of Research Magazine. The original press release is available at https://srel.uga.edu/uga-researcher-provides-a-targeted-approach-to-address-the-destructive-wild-pig-population/.
