At a Glance

A new study predicts that wild pigs could soon be a problem in every state.It's estimated that wild pigs cause more than $1.5 billion in damages and control costs in the U.S. each year.

A new study predicts thatinvasive wild pigs could soon be a major problem from coast to coast.

The study published in The Journal of Applied Ecology this week found the Researchers developed a model for the study that examined the pigs' expansion from 1982-2012. Looking at where the pigs started and where they are now, the study's authors hoped to make accurate predictions as to where they may go next.

Wild boars are most concentrated in the southern half of the country where The study noted that climate change could play a large role in their next move.

"The spread of invasive wild pigs was primarily associated with expansion into areas with similar environmental characteristics as their previous range, with the exception of spreading into colder regions," the study's authors wrote. "We identified that climate change may assist spread into northern regions by generating milder winters with less snow."

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The pigs are the descendants of the domestic swine that were first brought to the United States by Spanish explorers in 1539. Long after their arrival, hunters introduced wild Eurasian boars into some areas where they went on to breed extensively with domestic pigs. according to the USDA.

In 2014, the United States Congress appropriated $20 million to the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant InspectionService to create a damage managementprogram for the increasingly problematic pigs. While non-lethal measureshave provensomewhat useful in limiting the damage caused by the pigs, officials suggest that hunting and eliminating the pigsis the most successful means of stopping population growth.

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