For More Information

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

(APHIS) has published a color brochure on feral

swine. If you’d like a free copy of Wild Pigs: Hidden

Danger for Farmers and Hunters (Agriculture

Information Bulletin No. 620), write to

Management Services Division

USDA, APHIS

4700 River Road, Unit 1

Riverdale, MD 20737–1229

If you have any questions regarding feral swine,

please contact

Dr. Carter Black

Georgia Department of Agriculture

Atlanta, GA

1–800–282–5852, ext. 3667 or

404–656–3667

Dr. David Larimer

USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services

Conyers, GA

770–922–7860

Voice mail ext. 107

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Georgia Department of Agriculture

APHIS 91–55–036

Feral Swine

Information

USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services

1500 Klondike Road, Suite A–101

Conyers, GA 30207

770–922–7860

And Cooperating

Georgia Department of Agriculture

Agriculture Building

Capitol Square

Atlanta, GA 30334

404–656–3671
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the

basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age,

disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or

family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require

alternative means for communication of program

information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should

contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600

(voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director,

Office of Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building,

14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC

20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Photo credit: The image on the cover is an APHIS file

photo. But the interior photograph was taken by APHIS

veterinarians Mike Duffy and David Larimer, in Toombs

County, GA, especially for this publication.

Issued July 1997

Slightly revised June 1998

Feral Swine Information

Feral swine pose significant health threats to domestic pigs and even to people. These wild hogs are

appearing in Georgia in areas that did not have

populations in the past. There is evidence of

increasing transportation and relocation for hunting

purposes.

Feral swine brought into Georgia from another State

for any purpose other than slaughter are required to

have an entry permit from the office of the Georgia

State Veterinarian and a certificate of veterinary

inspection with negative results for brucellosis and

pseudorabies within the past 30 days. Once inside

the State, feral swine and domestic swine must have

the same testing for these diseases at every change

of ownership.

Testing of feral swine in Georgia from 1991 through

January 1, 1998, reveals the following:

Hunter-Killed or Confined Feral Swine

• Total tested 1,229

• Total positive for pseudorabies 357, or 29 percent

• Total positive for swine brucellosis 47, or 3.8

percent

Swine brucellosis and pseudorabies are both

transmissible to domestic pigs, and swine brucellosis

can be transmitted to people. Everyone in contact

with feral swine should wear rubber gloves.

Keep Georgia’s Swine Herd Safe

Do not relocate feral swine without a negative test

for pseudorabies and brucellosis.

Do not introduce feral swine to a hunting area

without first obtaining the landowner’s permission.

Do not release feral swine into or near a domestic

swine operation.

Do not handle feral swine without wearing rubber

gloves.