$650,000 for feral hog eradication efforts in Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas — In order to aid in its feral hog eradication efforts, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture will receive $650,000 in federal funds. The money will come from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.

The Buffalo River Conservation Committee (BRCC) allocated another $74,960 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services to expand eradication efforts within the Buffalo River watershed.

“We appreciate the efforts of U.S. Sen. John Boozman and the BRCC to provide additional resources that will enable the Department and our partners on the Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force to expand efforts to remove more feral hogs from Arkansas’s croplands, pastures, forests, and wetlands,” said Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward.

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture will use the federal funds to work with USDA Wildlife Services to implement a statewide feral hog management plan.

Including eradication efforts in 12 Arkansas counties funded through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program, these efforts will supplement ongoing removal activities.

In order to purchase additional traps and other equipment to expand trapping efforts within the Buffalo River watershed, USDA Wildlife Services will use the funding from the BRCC.