Feral Hog - Ecological Impact

Wild hogs directly compete with native wildlife for food and they can negatively impact natural ecosystems. Hogs present problems related to land, wildlife, and timber management. They can cause significant damage to agriculture and pose disease risks to humans, as well as, domestic livestock. Wild hogs are extremely difficult to control once they become established. It is now illegal to release hogs into the wild or to remove a live hog from the wild without a permit in South Carolina.

Negative Impacts

• Impacting of rooting by damaging root systems that kill native plants
• Destruction of plant & animal communities by trampling of plant materials and soil compaction
• Increase in soil erosion
• Decreased water quality - Effects most pronounced in wetland areas
• Destruction of rare & endangered plant communities in SC Heritage Preserves
• Depredation to threatened loggerhead sea turtle nests on North Island, Winyah Bay, SC