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Better Pork Featured Articles

Better Pork magazine is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Feral hogs being poisoned with bacon preservative

Monday, October 6, 2014

In a cruel twist of fate, America's five million feral hogs may soon be poisoned by the very preservative that cures the flesh of their domesticated counterparts.

The Associated Press reports that sodium nitrite, already used to poison feral swine in Australia and New Zealand, is being tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It's currently illegal to poison pigs in the United States, but hunting and trapping have been inadequate controls for the problematic porkers. Wild pigs cost approximately US$1.5 billion a year, which includes $800 million in agricultural damage.

Feral pigs do more than just uproot veggies and eat crops. In 2006, three people died and 200 were sickened by a batch of California spinach tainted with E. coli. Wild pig feces were identified as a likely source of the bacteria.

Sodium nitrite is much more toxic to pigs than people, so it should be safe to use. So far, it hasn't reached the 90 per cent kill rate needed for Environmental Protection Agency consideration. Also, challenges have arisen in making the bait palatable and enticing, and creating a bait container other animals can't break into. So hogs are safe, for now. BP

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Ontario Tender Fruit Season off to a Strong Start

Monday, July 14, 2025

Ontario's 2025 tender fruit and table grape season is off to a promising start reports the Ontario Tender Fruit and Fresh Grape Growers. While the weather may be too hot for some farmers, it has has been ideal for producing a sweet and juicy crop. A cooler-than-usual spring delayed the... Read this article online

Fresh Immigration Stream for Farm Jobs

Friday, July 11, 2025

Canada’s agriculture industry is facing serious labour shortages. To resolve this issue, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is working on a new immigration stream that will help bring international workers into this essential sector. The Agri-Food Pilot, which previously... Read this article online

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