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What are wild hogs?
“Wild hogs”, also called “wild pigs”, “wild boar” or “feral pigs”, are among the many names that refer to non-native swine and various hybrids that have either been illegally released or were formerly domestic pigs allowed to become feral throughout many states, including Indiana. Wild hogs include domestic hogs that have acclimated to living in a wild or free-roaming environment, were born in the wild, are free-roaming without any visible tags, markings, or have behavioral characteristics that would indicate a domestic state or private ownership, or have skeletal characteristics indicative of a wild or Eurasian origin as defined in 312 IAC 9-3-18.6.
A wild hog means any feral, untamed, or undomesticated hog from the family Suidae or family Tayassuidae that has one (1) or more of the following characteristics:
Can a person legally kill a wild hog in Indiana?
A landowner, tenant, or other person with written permission of 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 after moving it from the trap site. 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 and Wildlife.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 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 IDNR, 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.
Can I keep or release live wild hogs in Indiana?
Wild hogs cannot be imported into Indiana, possessed in captivity, sold, traded, bartered, leased or gifted.
Why are wild hogs a problem?
Wild hogs can cause significant damage to property, destroy wildlife habitat, and can carry a number of diseases that can be transferred to domestic swine or to other animals. Wild hogs are a major concern to the agricultural community because wild hogs can cause extensive damage to agricultural crops, are a source of disease for domestic livestock, and will prey on young livestock and small animals. Wild hogs may carry a number of diseases that can also infect people, contaminate human food sources, and water supplies. Wild hogs have reaped havoc on residential lawns, landscaping, golf courses, and rural cemeteries in other states.
Wild hogs are also a destructive exotic, invasive species threatening native wildlife and their habitats. The eggs and young of ground nesting animals, including many songbirds, quail, wild turkey, and rabbits are extremely vulnerable to wild hog predation. Wild hogs are also extremely destructive to wetlands and water resources, negatively impacting amphibian and reptile habitat. The rooting of wild hogs can cause serious damage to habitat management practices to develop nesting cover and annual food plots. The rooting and wallowing activities of wild hogs often destroy native plants, flowers, and mushrooms.
If I see wild hogs, what should I do?
Individuals observing feral or wild hogs are asked to contact one of the following to report the approximate location and number of hogs observed:
Individuals observing the illegal possession, importation, or release of wild hogs should contact DNR Law Enforcement at 1-800-TIP-IDNR.