Farmer set to lose wild invasive pig that's half his business

Jan 02, 2024

Hans Lindenmann is used to slaughtering pigs on his eastern Ontario farm — he's a pork producer, after all — but killing four pigs two weeks ago was even more difficult.

Amid a small group of fewer than 10 affected Ontario pork producers, Lindenmann, 59, has had to phase out Eurasian wild boars from his livestock on his property near Vankleek Hill because of a ban first announced by the provincial government two years ago.

As of Jan. 1, the importation, possession, transport, propagation, buying, selling, leasing or trading of live Eurasian wild boar and their hybrids will be prohibited.

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says the pigs are a significant threat to native plants and other animals.

"[They] have been called an ecological train wreck due to trampling, wallowing, and rooting in sensitive habitats and the significant harm they can cause to farmlands and stored crops," according to the ministry.

Ontario ups battle against wild pigs to keep province from going to the hogs

Lindenmann isn't fighting the move, which is supported by Ontario Pork, an industry group that represents more than 1,000 producers in the province.

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Video: LALEXPERT: Sclerotinia cycle and prophylactic methods

White rot, also known as sclerotinia, is a common agricultural fungal disease caused by various virulent species of Sclerotinia. It initially affects the root system (mycelium) before spreading to the aerial parts through the dissemination of spores.

Sclerotinia is undoubtedly a disease of major economic importance, and very damaging in the event of a heavy attack.

All these attacks come from the primary inoculum stored in the soil: sclerotia. These forms of resistance can survive in the soil for over 10 years, maintaining constant contamination of susceptible host crops, causing symptoms on the crop and replenishing the soil inoculum with new sclerotia.