Each year feral swine cause about $1.5 billion in damages to agricultural crops, landscaping and historic sites nationwide. They also carry diseases that pose significant risk to livestock, humans and pets and compete with our native wildlife for resources.  The NCDA department of NRCS received a grant of $1.25 million to be used as a Five County Feral Swine Trap Initiative. Counties included in this grant program are Anson, Davie, Haywood, Montgomery and Randolph.  The NC Feral Swine Task Force, a partnership of state and federal agencies, will be responsible for distributing and administering the trapping initiative.  Montgomery County currently has 10 traps that can be borrowed for a maximum of 30 days by any land owner or farmer after attending a training course.

The following websites have more information about the trapping initiative.  http://info.ncagr.gov/blog/2021/02/09/nc-feral-swine-task-force-receives-2-6-million-in-grants/ https://www.ncferalswine.org/five-county-trap-loan-project

For more information about traps in Montgomery County, contact Joseph Huntley, Soil & Water, at 910-572-2700 or at joseph.huntley@montgomerycountync.com or Tracy Blake at 910-576-6011 or at tracy_blake@ncsu.edu