Feral hogs have outsized climate impact 'greater than a million cars'

The US Department of Agriculturecalls feral swine"a dangerous, destructive, invasive species."

The university’s Christopher O’Bryan likened the pigs to tractors plowing fields.

The hogs' activity releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

TheUSDA estimatesthat there are over 6 million feral swine in the US alone, with the population growing rapidly.

There areup to 24 million feral pigs in Australia.

Population control measures include hunting, trapping and poisoning.

The study ispublished in the journal Global Change Biology.

Carbon and climate change

Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been linked to human activities.

The meme was pretty funny, but the reality of the impact of feral pigs is not.