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Feral / Wild Hog

Distribution and Abundance

There is no established population of wild hogs in Indiana. The home territory of a wild hog is around 10 square miles.

Food Habits

Wild hogs are opportunistic feeders. They prefer mast crops (acorns, hickory nuts, and beech nuts) in the fall. Other food items include grasses, roots, berries, fruits, insects, crops, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, mice, eggs of ground-nesting birds, young rabbits, fawns, and young livestock, such as lambs and goats.

Management and Control

A landowner, tenant, or other person with written permission from the landowner can shoot or trap a wild hog on that landowner’s private property without a permit. Be sure to check local ordinances before using a firearm. If trapped, the hog must be killed at the trap site or euthanized immediately. However, wild hogs cannot be offered for compensation of any kind for hunting or taking purposes and cannot be released into the wild. A person cannot charge a service fee for shooting, trapping, or removing a wild hog from private property unless the person has a nuisance wild animal control permit from the Division of Fish & Wildlife.

The DNR, in cooperation with the USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services and the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH), are working with impacted landowners in providing technical information to control wild hog populations. The DNR, BOAH and USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services do not provide information on where to hunt wild hogs in Indiana as part of this cooperative work with landowners.

Wild hogs cannot be imported into Indiana, possessed in captivity, sold, traded, bartered, leased, or gifted.

Negative Impacts of Wild Hogs on Natural Resources

Wild hog activity along streams and rivers can muddy the water, covering fish spawning beds in silt and decreasing oxygen levels in the water. Because hog diets overlap with those of wild turkey, squirrel, and deer, their presence decreases these species’ food availability. Hog activity may drive native wildlife from an area. Hogs also prey on the nests, eggs, and young of native birds and reptiles, some of which are threatened and endangered.  Along with this predatory behavior, wild hogs also damage wildlife nesting and winter cover for other species.

The rooting, digging, and wallowing activities of wild hogs increases the possibility of erosion, especially in wetlands and along streams and rivers. On farmland, wild hogs can cause extensive damage to crops. Large groups of wild hogs can also contaminate water sources through these activities, along with their fecal material, which can increase the risk of disease in wildlife, livestock, and humans.

If I see wild hogs, what should I do?

Individuals observing wild hogs are asked to contact one of the following to report the approximate location and number of hogs observed:

  • Indiana USDA-WS at 855-386-0370
  • Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife at dfw@dnr.IN.gov

Individuals observing the illegal possession, importation or release of wild hogs should contact DNR Law Enforcement at 1-800-TIP-IDNR.

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APHIS: Feral/Wild Hog Information

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