Evidently pigs do fly, at least as it concerns feral swine. Tennessee has significant feral swine populations in some areas of lower West Tennessee, lower and central Middle Tennessee, southeast East Tennessee, and of course the traditional areas of the Cumberland Plateau and the Great Smokies. As a part of the maintenance of Tennessee’s Stage 5 (free) status in the national Pseudorabies program for commercial swine, the state is required to develop a plan to control the interface of commercial swine (confinement operations) and transitional (having been or having contact with feral swine…in other words possibly many of our small home-use subsistence type herds) and feral swine. Surveillance sampling of feral and transitional swine is an important component of this plan. Practicing and accredited veterinarians are asked and encouraged to counsel swine clients on protecting their herds, whether transitional or commercial, from exposure to feral swine. Also, practitioners are asked to submit serum samples whenever possible from transitional and feral swine. If you hunt feral swine in the state or have clients who do, help us and help them to help us. Our field staff can provide collection tubes and pick up the samples if necessary; just contact the office at 615-837-5120 or your area field staff (map and phone #s available here). If you are aware of feral swine in your area that we might not be aware of, let us know.

Feral swine are a significant reservoir of Pseudorabies and swine Brucellosis, and illegal importation and local population spread have increased their presence and threat in Tennessee. In addition, feral swine are implicated in zoonotic disease concerns such as trichinosis and leptospirosis, as well as in ecosystem/habitat damage and turkey/quail/small game nest predation. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is collaborating with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and USDA Wildlife Services in promoting increased surveillance, and shares zoonotic findings with the Tennessee Department of Health.