This Act upgrades the federal feral swine eradication effort into a formal program, sets aside \$75 million through 2030, mandates post-eradication monitoring, and requires detailed reporting to Congress.
John Cornyn
Senator
TX
The Feral Swine Eradication Act officially upgrades the existing federal feral swine initiative from a "pilot program" to a permanent "program," establishing clear definitions for eligible eradication areas. This legislation allocates \$75 million through fiscal year 2030 to support these efforts and mandates post-eradication monitoring to prevent reinfestation. Furthermore, the Act requires federal agencies to submit detailed progress reports to Congress regarding eradication success and financial expenditures.
Feral Swine Eradication Act Commits $75 Million to Control Wild Pigs, Shifts Program to Permanent Status
The aptly named Feral Swine Eradication Act is basically taking the government’s existing, successful pilot program for controlling destructive wild pigs and making it official, permanent, and better funded. Think of it as moving a promising startup from the garage into a proper office building with a six-year budget.
The New Normal: Permanent Pig Patrol
This bill upgrades Section 2408 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. The federal effort to get rid of feral swine—which cause billions in damage to crops and ecosystems annually—is no longer a temporary "pilot program." It’s now a full-fledged "program," and the areas it covers are now "eligible areas." This change is important because it signals a long-term commitment rather than a temporary experiment. An "eligible area" is defined broadly as any place where the Secretary of Agriculture determines that feral swine are messing with farming, local nature, or human/animal health. If you’re a farmer struggling with these pests, this means the federal cavalry is now permanently on call.
Putting $75 Million to Work (and How They’re Splitting the Check)
To power this permanent program, the bill sets aside a total of $75,000,000 for fiscal years 2025 through 2030. That’s solid money aimed at protecting agricultural land and natural resources. However, there’s a procedural detail that caught our eye: the funding split is changing. Where it might have been 50/50 between the two main agencies involved (likely the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS), the new split is 40% and 60%. This means one of those agencies will now be operating with a smaller slice of the overall pie. While this might be an internal administrative decision based on operational needs, it’s worth watching to ensure the agency getting the 40% can still effectively do its part of the job.
The Long Game: Monitoring and Accountability
One of the smartest additions in this bill is the post-eradication monitoring requirement. Once an area is declared pig-free, APHIS and NRCS must keep checking that spot for one full year. This is the policy equivalent of closing the barn door and double-checking the latch; it prevents the problem from immediately creeping back, ensuring taxpayers’ money isn’t wasted on temporary fixes. The bill also ramps up accountability. The heads of APHIS and NRCS must produce detailed public reports for Congress within two years and again at four years and six months after the law is enacted. These reports must detail everything from the number of counties cleared to estimates of how much damage was avoided—which means we, the public, get a clear picture of whether this $75 million investment is actually paying off.