Wild pig populations are expanding globally, creating management challenges with significant welfare dimensions.
Wild pig management creates significant welfare challenges because of the intensity of methods used and the intelligence and social complexity of the animals. Aerial gunning — shooting pigs from helicopters — is widely used but causes wounding rates and deaths that involve acute suffering. Trapping methods cause extended stress during capture. Wild pigs are as cognitively complex as domestic pigs — their suffering in management contexts is equivalent to that of farm animals. Developing more humane, effective management methods that acknowledge pig intelligence and social bonds is both a welfare priority and a scientific challenge.