Drones, DNA used in hunt for Manitoba's invasive wild pigs

An invasive pest damaging agricultural land and ecosystems while potentially spreading disease, wild pigs. Wayne Lees says his organization Squeal on Pigs is working to get rid of them in Manitoba. I really take the Alberta rat control program as my model because you know they were persistent over many many years and they've managed to eradicate an invasive animal from their province. Spruce Woods Provincial Park is a hot spot for the wild pigs, but the animals are spotted across the province, 240 in total last year. Cassidy Klima represents Animal Health Canada, an organization focused on preparing for and managing foreign animal disease outbreaks. She says wild pigs can spread African swine fever, a highly contagious disease that's fatal to both commercial and wild pigs. While the disease hasn't arrived in Canada, she says the public needs to be on guard. People reporting what they're seeing out as they're just doing their day-to-day lives that are making the biggest difference on our surveillance campaigns. Um... And so general awareness is critically important for us on our end. Meanwhile, Lee says it is getting easier to track and euthanize the animals with new technologies like thermal drones and environmental DNA testing for wild pigs. We're making progress. I think if we're diligent and maintain our efforts, we'll be able to eradicate them from Manitoba. So maybe in a decade we won't need to talk about this anymore. But for now, Lee says it's essential that the public report any pig sightings to Squeal on Pigs. Chelsea Kemp, CBC News, Brandon.