Extension Publication released on Feral Pigs and Disease Concerns
Contact: Josh Helcel, 512-554-3785. Josh.helcel@ag.tamu.edu
College Station – The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI) released a new publication titled “Disease Concerns Associated with Feral Pigs” that covers the science behind the most common and emerging diseases associated with this animal and the way diseases are transmitted.
This resource serves as a guide for landowners, land managers and hunters to understand the different parasites, bacteria and viruses’ feral pigs may carry and transmit and how they can impact agricultural production and human health. The authors also provide management options and safety precautions used to minimize the risk of disease transmission when handling or processing feral pigs.
The publication can be accessed here:
Disease Concerns Associated with Feral Pigs
Additional free resources are available at Texas A&M NRI, where you will find research, extension publications, and online lessons on feral pigs and other topics such as native species, agricultural/wildlife tax valuation, and invasive species control and management.
Funding for this effort is provided through a Clean Water Act Section 319 nonpoint source grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Authors
Josh Helcel is a project coordinator with the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI). He specializes in educational programming and providing technical assistance to landowners and others seeking to control expanding populations of wild pigs. Josh has a Bachelor of Science in wildlife ecology and management from Texas A&M University. Prior to working for NRI, he worked as an interpreter and public hunting coordinator for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Currently, Josh is working within a 13-county area across the Lake Granbury, Leon River, Lampasas River, Gilleland Creek, Plum Creek and Geronimo Creek watersheds to reduce the environmental impacts of wild pigs. His emphasis on best management practices provides landowners with the outreach, technical assistance and resources needed to effectively abate the damages associated with exotic invasive wild pigs.
Josh also provides watershed-based educational presentations and resources through a variety of online and social media outlets including: the Feral Hogs Facebook page, the Feral Hogs YouTube page, the Wild Wonderings Blog and the new Wild Pigs website.
As a project coordinator for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Jay specializes in educational programming and provides technical assistance to landowners and others seeking to reduce expanding populations of wild pigs. Prior to joining the institute, he served as a park ranger and public hunting coordinator for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at the Guadalupe River and Lake Somerville State Parks.
Jay has a wealth of knowledge and experiences derived from 10 years of military service in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served two tours overseas, one combat tour to Afghanistan and one tour in support of operations in Libya, earning the rank of Sergeant and holding several billets within the Infantry community. Towards the end of his military career, Jay served at the Wounded Warriors detachment in San Antonio as an Operations Chief assisting wounded Marines with their transition and care.
He received his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from American Public University System in 2017 with a concentration in Fish and Wildlife Management. Currently, he is a graduate student at Texas A&M University, pursuing a master's degree in wildlife science in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management.
In his free time, Jay enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters. As an avid outdoorsman, he also enjoys hunting, fishing, archery, and introducing his daughters to the world of hunting and conservation.
