The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is pleased to announce that additional funding has been made available to assist with feral hog eradication efforts in Arkansas. Senator John Boozman was instrumental in securing $650,000 in federal funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to implement additional eradication efforts across the state.

Additionally, the Buffalo River Conservation Committee allocated $74,960 to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services to expand eradication efforts within the Buffalo River watershed.

"We appreciate the efforts of Senator Boozman and the BRCC to provide additional resources that will enable the Department and our partners on the Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force to expand efforts to remove more feral hogs from Arkansas's croplands, pastures, forests and wetlands," says Wes Ward, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture. 

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture will use the federal funds to work with USDA Wildlife Services to implement a statewide feral hog management plan. These efforts will supplement ongoing removal activities, including eradication efforts in 12 Arkansas counties funded through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program.

USDA Wildlife Services will use the funding from the BRCC to purchase additional traps and other equipment to expand trapping efforts within the Buffalo River watershed.

Approximately 30,000 feral hogs have been removed from the state by members of the Feral Hog Eradication Task Force since January 2020. The Task Force was created by the Arkansas legislature in 2017 to create a plan for the eradication of feral hogs in Arkansas and is made up of 21 federal and state agencies and non-government organizations. 

Feral hogs are an invasive species that are especially destructive to agricultural crops, native wildlife and young domestic livestock. In Arkansas, the latest survey by USDA estimated that feral swine cause at least $41 million in agricultural damages every year, including $34 million in damages to soybeans, corn, cotton, wheat, hay, pecans and rice, and $7.3 million in damages to livestock. Landowners experiencing feral hog damage are encouraged to call USDA Wildlife Services at 501-835-2318 for assistance.

Source: Arkansas Department of Agriculture, which is solely responsible for the information provided, and wholly owns the information. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.