Do hog operations threaten wildlife species?
A. Modern pork operations do not threaten wildlife or their habitats. Agricultural production methods–including those used on pork operations–increase food yield while using less space, allowing greater areas of natural habitat to be protected. In fact, farm fields and fallow areas provide some of the last remaining large open areas for wildlife habitat and feeding. That includes areas for threatened and endangered species. Large hayfields fertilized with manure provide natural food sources for many grazing wildlife species. These herbivores also benefit from wooded buffer zones that are sometimes used around manure storage systems. Buffer zones typically provide valuable forest and wetland habitats that may be destroyed with other types of development. Carnivorous species, such as owls and hawks, likewise benefit from open areas typical of pork production operations because these species feed on herbivore populations.
