McKee Sophie C, DeLay Nathan D, Mooney Daniel F, Shwiff Stephanie A
National Wildlife Research Center, United States of America Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
Department of Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 10;20(4):e0320316. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0320316. eCollection 2025.
Invasive wild pigs can impose significant economic costs on crop and livestock farms. Many factors influence the incidence and intensity of these losses, making efforts to reduce or eradicate these populations complex. While farm and ranch operators may perceive wild pigs as agricultural pests, other landowners often see them as wild game with recreational value. This study investigates the relationship between landowner practices that attract wild pigs and the likelihood of pig presence and damage on farm and ranch operations. It considers the farmers' own actions that attract wildlife, neighboring landowner actions, the heterogeneity of the surrounding landscape, and county-level factors. The findings show a significant and positive associations between neighbors' actions and the probability of wild pig presence and financial losses from wild pig damage. Additionally, increasingly heterogeneous landscapes may further exacerbate this challenge. This research indicates that the choices made by adjacent property owners can undermine the effectiveness of public and private efforts to manage wild pig populations. Conversely, the impacts of wild pig management likely extend beyond specific management areas. Holistic eradication or population control programs should consider these externalities to adequately and efficiently address their impacts.
入侵性野猪会给农作物和畜牧场带来巨大的经济成本。许多因素影响着这些损失的发生率和严重程度，使得减少或根除这些野猪种群的努力变得复杂。虽然农场和牧场经营者可能将野猪视为农业害虫，但其他土地所有者通常将它们视为具有娱乐价值的野生动物。本研究调查了吸引野猪的土地所有者行为与农场和牧场运营中野猪出现及造成损害的可能性之间的关系。它考虑了农民自身吸引野生动物的行为、相邻土地所有者的行为、周围景观的异质性以及县级因素。研究结果表明，邻居的行为与野猪出现的概率以及野猪造成损害的经济损失之间存在显著的正相关关系。此外，景观异质性增加可能会进一步加剧这一挑战。这项研究表明，相邻土地所有者的选择可能会破坏公共和私人管理野猪种群努力的有效性。相反，野猪管理的影响可能超出特定管理区域。全面的根除或种群控制计划应考虑这些外部因素，以充分有效地应对其影响。
