Pig Brig® Trap Systems, a company that develops tools and techniques to mitigate the damage and disease caused by feral pigs, recently instructed land management professionals from around Italy on how to capture wild boar using the company's patented feral hog trap.
EAST HADDAM, Conn., Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Pig Brig® Trap Systems, a company that develops tools and techniques to mitigate the damage and disease caused by feral pigs, recently instructed land management professionals from around Italy on how to capture wild boar using the company's patented feral hog trap.
Organized by the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), the multi-day seminar welcomed scientists and wildlife experts from various states and agencies across Italy. The Pig Brig team led a series of sessions on site selection, trap set-up, trap conditioning, and capture techniques using the Pig Brig Trap. The sessions were held on the grounds of a protected area near Rome. The Pig Brig Trap is a novel feral hog trap developed by a team of US-based wildlife ecologists. National Geographic writers covered this visit in an article published on November 9, 2022.
Italy has more than 1 million wild boar, and Coldiretti, the country's farmers association, estimates that 10% of them live in Lazio, the region around Rome. The issue garnered international news coverage last spring as wild boar invaded parks and neighborhoods close to Rome's historic city center. Native to Italy's countryside and mountains, wild boar feed on the lush vegetation that grows there. As boar populations have grown, so has the competition for food sources, and wild boar have been drawn into cities by overflowing rubbish bins.
Pig Brig's team was hosted by Barbara Franzetti, Ph.D., a biologist with ISPRA. Dr. Franzetti's role with ISPRA is to provide the government with technical and scientific support on wild boar management and monitoring.
"I was familiar with the Pig Brig team through my research in boar population control, and I reached out to them when we needed a humane way to capture pigs," said Franzetti. "The population is growing, and our aim during this exercise was to capture, mark and release wild boar to enable better population estimates and learn to use this new trap system."
"Though native to Italy, wild boar cause similar conflicts as feral pigs in the US, where they're an invasive species. Furthermore, African swine fever's arrival in Italy in early 2022 has made management concerns more pressing," said Vickie DeNicola, CEO of Pig Brig Trap Systems. "We were proud to be invited to join these researchers and wildlife experts and share the techniques and tools we've developed. Wild boar have few natural predators, reproduce quickly, and thrive in almost any condition. Because of that, they are both amazing and tough to manage."
The Pig Brig Trap is a simple, continuous-catch net system. After assembly, the net trap is kept in conditioning mode — above ground level — until pigs are comfortable feeding inside. The net is then lowered to the ground, and the trap is set. At that point, pigs are drawn in by bait, others follow, and none can get out. Pig Brig traps are used in 21 countries across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Pig Brig Trap Systems just closed a distribution deal to make them available throughout Southeast Asia.
About Pig Brig® Trap Systems
Founded in 2020 by ecologists and wildlife management scientists, Pig Brig® Trap Systems provides landowners and land managers worldwide with practical, science-based insights and field-proven tools to protect land, life, and livelihoods from the damage and disease caused by wild pigs. The simple and effective system is proven to catch the whole sounder (or group of animals), defending land and livestock from wild pigs. Find our communities on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Visit us at pigbrig.com.
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SOURCE Pig Brig Trap Systems
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