Lacombe County has joined more than 20 other Alberta rural municipalities and banned wild boar.
The bristle-backed menaces were introduced into the province in the 1980s and descendents of escapees have been breeding ever since.
Alberta considers wild boar an invasive species and, for nearly 20 years, has been a provincially regulated agricultural pest when at large.
Wild boars can be very destructive, as well as dangerous. They damage crops and pastures and other damage can be caused by their nests and wallowing sites.
If surprised or cornered by human or animal, boar can be ferocious and dangerous.
Lacombe County council discussed wild boar on March 13 after Agricultural Service Board members proposed an ad hoc committee be set up to give industry experts and residents input into a new wild boar bylaw.
Coun. Brenda Knight supported going the committee route, citing the success of a similar approach to the clubroot infestation problem.
"It was well received," she said of that initiative.
Knight said there was no question wild boar are a big problem if they appear but felt it would be useful to get feedback before going with an outright ban.
"Prohibiting is a big word and that's why I'd like to hear from the people."
Others on council said that while clubroot affected many Lacombe County ratepayers, wild boar do not. The county is not aware of any active wild boar operations within its boundaries.
After some debate, council decided a committee was not needed but supported creating a bylaw prohibiting wild boar.
Coun. Dwayne West said wild boar are very invasive.
"I think they top the list of invasive (species) when it comes to larger animals."
Reeve Barb Shepherd said other central Alberta rural municipalities, including Red Deer and Wetaskiwin counties have banned wild boar, as well as 20 others across the province.
"To be responsible neighbours, it's so important that we expedite this if we can."
Red Deer and Mountain View counties banned wild boar in 2016.
Clearwater County considered and decided against a ban in 2023. The rationale was wild boar are not the only animals that cause damage and it was not fair to single one animal out over another. If a boar caused problems, other regulations could be used to address the problem.
Wild boar are extremely wily and elusive and it is unclear how many are hiding around Alberta.
A two-year program offering a $75 bounty per set of ears per sounder, or group of pigs, for each boar ear ended in March 2024 without a single success.
The province and Alberta Pork joined forces to set up the Squeal on Pigs program in 2022, which provides information on what to look for and how to report sightings or other evidence of boar.
It has led to more than 400 wild boar — three-quarters from Woodlands County in northern Alberta – being removed from across Alberta from 2018 to fall 2024.
