Improving quality ensures that Alberta’s pork industry maintains access to export markets. Investments in improving pork quality are related to the objectives of securing AB pork export markets and attracting an additional $1.5B investment in AB pork production and value-added processing.
One of the challenges that has the potential to jeopardize an increase in value-added processing and market access is the current issue of wild boars being at large in Alberta.
If not contained, the feral pigs can harm the environment, endanger people and animals, and spread diseases that could be transmitted to other livestock, pets or people.
To help combat and control this invasive species, RDAR recently invested $660,000 in a project led by the University of Calgary’s faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM). The total project value is $2.2 million.
The initiative includes the expanded use of ‘Judas Pigs’ with tracking collars to monitor sounder behaviour and will inform control measures, e.g., trapping, baiting, chemical control, and genetic measures. The importance of this work was noted during an RDAR-hosted CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) forum in June 2024.
Feral pigs serve as a vector for transmitting CWD. The pigs may serve as an intermediary host for the disease, increasing the rate of disease spread and potentially accelerating disease mutation into forms transmissible to other species.
For a full list of RDAR’s investment into the pork industry, view our Funded Research.