Canadian Super Pigs Are Just 18 Miles From the Minnesota Border
Forget maple syrup and amazing hockey players, a silent threat is lurking just north of the Minnesota border. And unlike most Canadians, this one won't be quick to apologize for running into you.
It's a massive, hairy and aggressive super pig... You read that right, Canadian Super Pigs are massing north of the 'Land of Ten Thousand Lakes' in the province of Manitoba. Americans were first alerted to this potential threat back in 2023, and one thing has changed since then. They've gotten closer.
The threat of these invasive boars moving into Minnesota was first realized in 2023.
So they’ve been able to not only survive, but thrive in the Canadian wilderness. And the alarming thing is we’re seeing those populations move closer to the United States border. This has been a real eye opener, the feral pigs in Canada not only surviving, but thriving and expanding their territory, so it is a big threat.
-Brian Hoefs, Executive Director of the Board of Animal Health/State Vet For Minnesota via MPR News
Since that report in 2023, the super pigs have not only continued to thrive in the Canadian Province of Manitoba, but they've also inched closer to the Minnesota border.
Minnesota shares two borders with Canadian Provinces, one in the northeast part of the state with Ontario, and the other with Manitoba, which spans 547 miles. According to the most recent data, the biggest threat lies near the northwest border.
A few years back, when the super pig population in Manitoba began to explode, the local government put together a website, Squeal On Pigs Manitoba, which encourages residents to report sightings of the feral hogs to officials. The Manitoba government then marks these sightings on a map on its website, showing anyone who chooses to visit the site, where the pigs are located at any given time.
The most recent map clearly shows that a colony of super pigs have made it into the southern part of Manitoba, near Spruce Woods Provincial Park. Another report shows the pigs as close as 18 miles north of the border.
To see just where the pigs are showing up in Manitoba, you can check out the map at the Squeal On Pigs Website here.
These swine are considered an ecological train wreck due to their extreme destructiveness. They can use their snouts to root for food, destroying local vegetation. They also are known to carry several diseases and the worry is, if transmitted to domesticated Minnesota pigs, a disaster of epic proportions could be at hand. Minnesota is the largest pork producer in the U.S. and local health officials are said to be monitoring the issue closely.
Story Sources: Squeal On Pigs Manitoba Website
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