Wild pig battle heats up as Michigan's ban gets closer
A July 8 ban on the possession of wild swine looms large as lawmakers scramble to come up with policies that regulate wild game ranches offering hunts of the animals.
Farmers and livestock producers favor the invasive species order by the Department of Natural Resources since feral swine carry disease and damage crops.
But hunting advocates want to preserve the ability to stock the pigs on game ranches.
File photo
They say the ban would hurt business.
A Washtenaw County game ranch that offers wild boar hunts is one of 50 in the state, according to DNR.
Roaming hogs - wild Russian boar offered up for hunts, escaped pigs or a combination of breeds - have been spotted in 65 of the state’s 85 counties, including Washtenaw County.
Washtenaw County residents reported two feral pig sightings and two kills in 2010. The sightings and kills occurred in Bridgewater and Saline, Lodi and Pittsfield townships. Since 2001, Michigan residents have spotted or killed 533 wild pigs, DNR spokesperson Mary Dettloff said. Female swine can breed at 6 months old and can have as many as two litters of piglets per year with between four and 12 piglets per litter, experts say.
The DNR encourages anyone with a state hunting license to shoot the animals on sight in the wild.
The battle over how to regulate the hogs is heating up.
On June 14, Sen. Rick Jones introduced plans to make the DNR's administrative ban on the wild pigs a law.
Comments
Josh Pelham
Thu, Jun 30, 2011 : 5:22 p.m.
out of the 500,000 hunters in the sate of michigan. how many have seen wild hog? and if they do well we can shoot on sight. so why banned the enclosure hunts that bring buisness to corn farmer which helps feed mills which helps pig famers which helps game ranches who help those put meet in the freezer
Josh Pelham
Thu, Jun 30, 2011 : 5:19 p.m.
well thanks michigan for hurting my family once again. We have a game ranch and do hunts with russian, euro asian and feral hogs. never had an issue. keep the place maintained and up to code (which you inspected!). Now our family buisness must have a kill off and go broke just some ppl think we have wild hogs.
Floyd
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 7:19 p.m.
In my opinion, the wild hog problem is overshadowed by the fact that we are in the midst of an explosion of the mute swan population, which is a true invasive species that is outcompeting native marsh birds. Like the previous commentator, I walk the woods in these parts a lot, and I have never seen a pig out there. But in the last year, wherever I go, there are the new swans. Never saw one in my life till this winter, when all of a sudden, there were eight or twelve winter down at the Barton dam. I went fishing yesterday in Waterloo and there was a flock. They are afraid of nothing, as they are as big as pterodactyls, and they are aggressive to other waterfowl. I think the hogs are getting the bad wrap because they are ugly, while swans are pretty. But in ten years, we will have no more trumpeter swans and our ducks will be fewer and far between.
Rork Kuick
Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 12:38 p.m.
I think there is reason for optimism. Once they see some hope for the trumpters, people will be more on board with removing mutes.
tim
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 6:44 p.m.
Good idea to get rid of them. Check out National Geographic article .<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/05/110502-wild-pigs-parasites-animals-pork-science-health-nation/" rel='nofollow'>http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/05/110502-wild-pigs-parasites-animals-pork-science-health-nation/</a>
RuralMom
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 6:42 p.m.
Being a "neighbor" of a so called "game ranch", I am totally opposed to hunting in this manner, and don't think they should be allowed to import and maintain what the DNR says is a nusance. They also operate in a cloak of secrecy, saying due to PETA and such protests, they don't have to give the name and address of specific facilities wanting to house and hunt these animals. Since the DNR and our tax $ have spent time, money, and resources irradicating non native species in my area, I really would be appalled if they are allowed to have these hunts. I am not anti hunting, I just don't think Game Ranches are real hunting! Its like fishing in a fish tank, no sport what so ever!
xmo
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 4:49 p.m.
Where is PETA, Green Peace and the Sierra Club? They need to save this endangered species of swine! I think they also need to start calling them "Undocumented" Swine instead of "feral pigs". Come on, we all need to be PC.
kmgeb2000
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 4:46 p.m.
Re: Atticus F. at 11:41 AM on June 28, 2011 "This ban stinks of anti-hunting regulation" How? You can shoot them on sight, no permit needed. That sound like pro-hunting to me. Besides how is shooting a caged animal anything akin to the skilful tracking and acquisition of an elusive target? A game preserve is just a small cage in comparison to say Hiawatha National Forest. As for NEVER seeing one, that is irrelavant. I've only seen one Moose in the wild after ten plus years in the UP doing field work, and that was actually in Canada north of WAWA.
Rork Kuick
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 4 p.m.
"But hunting advocates want to preserve the ability to stock the pigs on game ranches." That may be overstatement. There is debate. Note that the folks with game ranches may want to appear as hunting advocates, but that doesn't mean it's true. They are in it for money, and some other people refuse to even call this activity hunting. MUCC, of the Dec 10 invasive species order, wrote: "MUCC applauds the DNRE Wildlife Division and Director Humphries for taking this critical first step and looks forward to working with new and returning lawmakers to enact a 100 percent industry funded regulatory program for swine shooting and breeding operations consistent with with the MDA/MDNRE Swine Biosecurity Workgroup's recommendations. If such a program is not enacted by July 8, however, we will welcome the necessary alternative in prohibiting wild boar as an invasive species in Michigan." Not wildly enthusiastic about canned hunts was my take. We tolerate high-fence operations (elk, deer, boar) cause they create economic activity, not cause it's hunting. All of them frighten me due to potential disease problems. I'm open-minded about the trade-off between the money from such operations (=good), and whether they can be regulated without endangering our other farmers and the environment with disease or simply destruction. Note that "hunting" does not even enter into my thinking. The problem is about the same as if they were just selling boar meat to restaurants, except I expect people pay more to shoot one.
newsboy
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 3:47 p.m.
Every county with fast food and all the grease you can eat buffets. Stay healthy if you don't want to be misidentifed on the DNR's hit list!
loves_fall
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 3:42 p.m.
These ranchers already had a chance to have the wild boars legally. Because they didn't handle their animals well and managed to let them escape, they caused this whole environmental problem. I don't think we need to give them special permissions to continue to keep animals that they have already shown that they can't reliably contain.
Atticus F.
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 3:41 p.m.
This ban stinks of anti-hunting regulation. If people are so concerned about ferral pigs, then why not ban all pig farms? I'm sure 99% of the ferral population is derived from pigs that have escaped from farms, not from game ranches. Also, I've spent alot of time in the woods in Jackson, Washtenaw, and Livingston county, while hunting and foraging for wild foods...And I have NEVER seen a wild boar roaming around.
aawolve
Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 1:24 p.m.
What does shooting pigs in a barrel have to do with hunting? As a hunter, I would say nothing. Why are you sure that 99% of the feral population escaped from farms?
Mr. Ed
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 3:08 p.m.
I always thought more pigs took up residence in Washtenaw County.