Feral Fight: Family Farm Battles Mich. Over Ban That Will Kill Livestock and Livelihood
- Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:42pm by
Liz Klimas
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In 2010, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment signed an order that would ban and require the execution of swine that met certain physical characteristics classifying them as non-native, or feral, due to the fact that they destroyed the environment and carried disease. While many of these pigs were used for sport hunting on ranches, some families raised them for food.
One such farm is Bakers Green Acres, which is currently fighting against the order going into effect April 1. If they don’t comply with getting rid of the hogs before this Sunday, authorities could come in and take care of it for them.
The ban
On Dec. 10, 2010, (Department of Natural Resources) DNR Director at the time Rebecca Humphries (Rodney Stokes is the current director) signed the order that made feral swine and wild boar an invasive species in Michigan. In doing so, once the ban goes into effect it will be illegal to possess “wild or feral boar/swine/hog, Old World swine, razorback, Eurasian wild boar and Russian wild boar” for any purpose. The DNR states the swine had been seen in every county in Michigan and are reported to “pose a significant risk to Michigan’s wildlife, ecosystems and agricultural resources, and they are a serious disease threat to humans, wildlife and domesticated pigs,” according to Humphries.
The ban was originally set to go into effect in June 2011 but was pushed back. Since that time, game ranchers and livestock farmers have protested the requirment. Even rock musician Ted Nugent, who is also an avid Michigan hunter, has called for the state to enact more stringent regulations on farms with the swine, instead of issuing a ban all together. Here’s what Nugent, who owns a game hunting ranch himself, said about the issue in the summer of 2011:
“People have lost their minds in Michigan. If there are 7,000 pigs running around Michigan, I’m a gay banjo player in a hee-haw band,” Nugent said, according to the MIRS report.
[...]
Nugent said it is unfair “to paint responsible game ranches with irresponsible ones that let their animals roam free,” according to the MIRS report. “It is killing an industry that brings hundreds of thousands of tourism dollars to the state every year, Nugent said.”
Baker said he chose this breed of pigs due to their hardier nature for harsh winters in Michigan. They are reportedly they are rather tasty too.
At the end of 2011, only 105 pigs had been killed, according to reports. MLive reported earlier this week that the hope was over the winter enough hunters would kill the pigs, which were still considered legal game. Ed Golder, a DNR spokesman, is reported as estimating half of the operations so far have depopulated their farms.
Are there other motivations behind the ban?
Golder said the department hopes each farm will voluntarily take care of their animals and notes it will be making inspections of farms known to have had the swine once the ban goes in place. he went on to say the department is in litigation with several farms, one of which is Bakers Green Acres.
A story on that farm — located in Marion, Mich. — by Natural News suggests the DNR was not just motivated by the health and environmental issues associated with the swine but pressure from larger pork corporations. The Michigan Pork Producers Association supports the ban, stating if they allowed to continue, proliferation the wild boar and feral pigs could “endanger thousands of jobs and Michigan’s entire agriculture sector.”
Mark Baker of Bakers Green Acres farm also believes the “Big Pork Industry” is behind this and produced this documentary of their own rural operation to state their case. Watch it here:
An issue beyond Michigan
While this may seem a localized issue, Pennsylvania proposed a similar ban six years ago and several other states such as New York are considering one as well. The flip side to Mark Baker’s story, who believes he will lose his livelihood with the ban, are other farms experiencing crop decimation and diseased livestock, which they attribute to the wild pigs. The Philadelphia Inquirer recounts a recent story of one of its local farmers who had this experience:
Tom Barkman, a Bedford County dairy farmer, got a shock one morning a few years ago when a 15-acre section of his just-planted cornfield was ripped to shreds, the seeds gone.
The culprits, he would soon find out: a group, or sounder, of feral swine, 300-pound crop consumers that destroy most everything in their path.
They were escapees, he believed, from a neighboring game-hunting preserve.
So Barkman, who owns 600 acres in Clearview, 100 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, replanted the field – not once but two more times, before grabbing his shotgun and finally staking out his field.
“There was a gob of them, maybe 30,” said Barkman, who managed to shoot two.
He never again had a problem with crop damage. But he soon had something else to worry about: the well-being of his livestock.
He began noticing a suspicious number of deaths among his dairy calves and figured their killers were the feral hogs. He was so fearful he shipped the calves to another farm to be raised.
Last year, Mississippi State University helped made a documentary on the “Feral Swine Pandemic”. Here it is in three parts:
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, feral swine have been spotted in 39 states and their population is estimated at 4 million. The pigs are considered prolific breeders, contributing to some concern over their spread. A National Geographic feature reports that “native” pigs were first brought to the United States by the Spanish in the 1530s and the species now lumped into “non-native“ and ”invasive” feral swine, which can grow up to 500 pounds, were introduced in the early 1900s.
National Feral Swine Mapping System keeps track of feral swine populations in the United States. (Image: USDA)
Here's a close up of Michigan on the National Feral Swine map. (Image: USDA)
“Where does it end?”
What Mark Baker worries about on a larger scale — even beyond his operation — is the classification of the pigs as an “invasive species.“ He said that if ”Michigan gets away with this [...] where does it end?”
Others also worry about how the swine will be targeted as “feral,” which will be largely based on their looks because it would be too costly to genetically differentiate them. Identification will be based on characteristics such as its coat, striped hair as a piglet, tail and ear structure, and skeletal appearance.
Feral swine piglets will be identified by their striped coat.
A blog post on the Baker farm website states the belief that the animals found on farms should not be considered “feral” given the definition of the term and that they are under the farmer’s care.
Some, including State Senator of the 35th District Dawrin Booher, have also said that the DNR is acting outside of its mission in involving itself in private farming practices.
“I believe it was a mistake for the DNR to involve itself in an agricultural issue that is not associated whatsoever with its mission,” he said. “The DNR is charged with management of game and wildlife owned by the public – not the regulation of privately-owned animals. That is the responsibility of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.”
Pete Kennedy, president of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, seconded this notion, saying in a phone interview with the Blaze that the DNR regulates hunting and fishing. He said they shouldn’t have regulatory power on farms. Kennedy also said the the problem of feral swine is being blown out of proportion by lobbying groups.
Kennedy contacted the Blaze to tell us that Baker had testified before the Michigan state Senate yesterday for an extension on the impending ban, but was denied.
Tell us your thoughts on the feral pig issue in the comments section.
Note: This story has been updated since its original posting to incorporate information from Pete Kennedy, president of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.
[H/T: Blaze reader]
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Comments (160)
imhunderdog
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:28pmI seem to remember a time in this country when cattle and sheep farmers were at war with one another. Now its pigs. Corn for gasoline and killing meat, I will never understand how stupid so called educated people can be.
Report Post »Dale
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:04pmDr. Jack Mayer said that these pigs have been around since Columbus’ second voyage (by my calculations over 500 years ago). It seems strange to me, Dr. Mayer, that they are just now becoming a problem.
Report Post »hawkeyez
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:09pmyou are over one hundred years old.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:21pmThey over ran the White House!!!
Report Post »shockingnot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:52pmI agree. If anyone would actually look it up. Any hog will go wild with in 2 weeks when they are not cared for by a farmer.
Report Post »CORRUPTION
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:29pmThis not Stupid, this is Government Corruption.
Report Post »colt1860
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:53pmThis law is ridiculous. Of course it’s big corporation in cahoots with the liberal Government. If they ban pigs today, because they may cause harm to other land owners, next they’ll ban deer, black bears, etc. Here where in my state, deer eat vegetation from homes, and black bears dig through the trash. Should we ban them? Like every other Nanny and Progressive law, big, elitist, monopolistic corporations are at the forefront. Just look at the people that work at the FDA, they’re mostly former employees of the same companies or industries they regulate.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:00pmTo Control the Peope: Control (LIMIT) the Food Supply!
Report Post »skippy6
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:24pmHey, Didn’t FDR slaughter millions of pigs and plow crops under during the great depression??? Yes… You are correct….BING BING BING!!! History does repeat itself….We are headed for a major depression if the Commie King is elected again…….
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 11:59pm@DALE
They’re just now becoming a problem IN MICHIGAN. Because they aren’t native to the area and were only semi recently introduced there. Most often the determinations of “invasive species” and “nuisance pests” are over reactions, this isn’t one of those cases.
Just take a look at the southern states where eurasian and russian feral hogs have been allowed to take hold. They eat anything and everything in their path and they breed uncontrollably. They are literally methodically destroying entire areas and everything in them.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:35amWhy don’t they just do like every other state with feral animals and let anyone with a hunting license (which I think is unnecessary and unconstitutional, but I digress) to take any hog not on a farm or ranch at any time? In Oklahoma, it is rare to see a feral hog despite the abundance of crop land, oak trees, pecan trees, and natural fruit trees. Why? Because they taste GOOD and you can KILL them anytime of the year. If a farmer has hogs of any type and they get out or he releases them on purpose, he can be fined because ALL hogs go feral in a short period of time from release. They are one of the least domesticated farm animals on the planet. Picking a certain breed of pig to make illegal is as ignorant as banning all rottweilers or dobermans because someone fears them.
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 1:49amThere’s legislation in Missouri to control “puppy mills”, with their advocates stating there are over 3,000 in Missouri. There aren’t 3,000 meth labs, and we’ve got a lot of meth laps.
3,000 puppy mills in Missouri? Really? There must be hidden mountains of dead puppies. It’s all cronyism mixed with Progressivism (I’ll tell you what to do).
I’ve heard that the “puppy mill” legislation here was to give the State control over any breeders, that the bill was written too broadly, and could be used against anyone breeding anything. Huge surprise, I’m sure.
Report Post »Dagnabbit5
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 6:31amTo IMHUNDERDOG,
Report Post »My Granddad and Dad always said “To many people are educated beyond their intelligence.”
That’s so much truer today.
hillbillyinny
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 11:12amCattle/sheep battles were mostly in the midwest and western part of the U.S. When cattle graze they bite and break (strength in jaws and neck); when sheep graze (eat grass), due to the fact that they have no upper front teeth and less strength in the jaw and neck, they bite and shake their head side-to-side. If grass is shallow rooted such as occurs in lower moisture areas of the U.S., the roots can be pulled up with the grass by the shaking.
Here in the Northeast of the U.S. and in many parts of Ohio, Virginia and the South, grasses are lush and deep rooted due to adequate to high rainfall. Sheep actually IMPROVE GRASS STANDS in these areas, but not affecting the roots at all, but by breaking up the thatch (undergrowth) that cause grass areas to become sparse.
Here in the rain/snow belt of NY, sheep are well suited to their environement, and we have a growing population! But, the more the government steps into farming, the less food we will have! And the more we turn to “factory farming” (large controlling companies using genetically modified and specific breed-only farming), the closer we come to one disaster away from loosing entire crops!
Communists have never been good farmers! PLEASE SUPPORT AND DEFEND FAMILY FARMING!
Report Post »HumbleMan
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 11:44amDemocrats are feral.
Report Post »SoupSammich
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 1:12pmHopefully all the meat from the culled piggies/Democrats was at least given to CAIR.
Report Post »Pigpen
Posted on April 1, 2012 at 2:42pmWell, how about an open, no-limit, year-round season on feral pigs? If people are willing to pay to hunt the pigs on ranches, then people will probably be willing to shoot one if its on their property too. No need to go and destroy peoples’ property with silly laws and ordnances. Just let the hunters do what they do best: be the predator that nature no longer provides.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 12:50amHOG DRIVE to Dearborn, Michigan…It Will take care for two problems at once!!!
Report Post »Zeb
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:24pmLOOKS LIKE A GROWING ENTERPRISE TO ME!!!
Report Post »http://www.hoghuntinghoghunting.com/?gclid=CNSut5esj68CFQZ_hwod8UIzzA
momsense
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:24pmToday feral pigs–tomorrow seniors who need too much care.
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:38pmWas just thinking the same thing. I take care of my 88 yr. old parent and his “assigned” doctor didn’t tell him about an outpatient procedure we went elsewhere and paid out of pocket for, which did wonders for him. Ahhh, health care insurance…..BS!
It’s coming…
NoBama 2012
Report Post »Zeb
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:51pmYUP! probably cause ya got swine flue from the un-managed hogs, we need a constitutional amendment to give the wild pigs the same rights as the snail darter. We sure cant give the states the right to properly manage their natural resources. even if they just wild pigs. How about a national leash law?
Report Post »MAMMY_NUNN
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:59pmThe state was once scarce on turkeys and now the state is overrun by turkeys.
Report Post »Pheasants are now scarce.
At one time in history they thought it was a good idea to kill all the buffalo.
The perch used to be plentiful introduced walleye now perch are scarce.
Anything to make money or have control over their preference of a species.
I lived in Mich 50+ years and still haven’t seen or heard of the sighting of a wild pig.
Link8on
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:25pmThe pigs from orwellian animal farm gone feral went to the far country. They found out that the productive animals there can come under their control with a few keywords like:
Report Post »“Rights to women’s reproductive Health”
“Give them the Wealth, Give them the Dignity!”
“Its only a fetus”
“ Save the trees”
“I’ll give them the taxes when they give back my son.”
“Operation Fast and Furious”
“inherited this Problem”
“because its real news”
“economics 101”
“You have to vote for it before you can read it”
Elena2010
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:27pmMost farm animals and domestic pets are also non-native. Horses came w/the Spanish as did cats & dogs. Honey bees came w/the English as did sparrows. Shall we kill all those animals, too?
Where is PETA?
Report Post »Gorp
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 5:10amOH BOY! I’ll be 66 in July. I’m going to go Feral then. It should be fun…
Report Post »neiman1
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:20pmWhen they become more numerous the hunters will take down their number. If you don’t regulate the pigs or the hunters they wont get out of balance. Feral pigs run in most of California alongside farming and ranching. The coexist just fine.
Report Post »Sirfoldallot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:28pmThey still have a farm in Cali-fornicate ?
Report Post »VRW Conspirator
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:54pmSpent 38 years in CA and never ONCE saw one of these little or large buggers….and we lived in a valley…surrounded by open land and right near agriculture..Ventura County….the mountain lions and bobcats and coyotes did their job of keeping the hills clean….
now in TX…the whole state is like hog hunting crazy….they don’t seem to mind on those big TX cattle ranches about the little piggies…. there is next to ZERO population in NY, PA, and MI…what are they crying about….??
sorry…i am with the pig farmer…sounds like “big pork’ industry is giving “big pork” politics to certain people to keep the little guy out of the market….the law should just require those that raise the pigs for food and to sell as food provide some sort of enclosure the pigs can’t get out of….
not just a simple barbed wire fence but a slat structure they can’t dig under or squeeze through…
then hunt down the truly “feral” animals or better yet…sell hunting licenses and let the hunters do it like down here in TX….everyone can‘t seem to wait until hog season rolls around so they can kill’dem some piggies….
Report Post »RebelYell1862
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:29pm@NEIMAN1 Tell that to the people around here that grow watermelons and sweet potatos and peanuts. You’re a dumb-ass.
Report Post »txjb
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:03pmrebelyell ,why do you call people names ? it’s rud , so grow up .
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 1:01am@ Rebelyell, It is a lazy @55 farmer who does not properly manage his crops and protect his own investment from ANY threat. Anywhere a farmer can find a scapegoat for his problems, he’ll point the blame faster than a politician. That is probably why farmers have rigged the market and big agra has just in the last few decades started to cannibalize the smaller ma and pop farms that remain independent. No one should be receiving gov’t subsidies, not even farmers. And utilizing taxpayer dollars to provide hundreds of worthless jobs to do the work that farmers should be doing on their own is wrong. And my guess is that if farmers hadn’t been so successful in turning this into a nation of pre-packaged consumers that want nothing to do with taking their own game, then they wouldn’t have this problem with hogs in the first place.
You farmers act just like the CIA. You intervene in other peoples’ affairs for decades and then you wonder why so many people are angry at you and where all the backlash is coming from all of the sudden. Just ignorant of how your actions affect the ever changing world around you.
Report Post »TRILO
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:20pmThis is just a continuation of government policy to make people more and more dependant on the government and big agri business. I have officially stopped purchasing anything made by a large agri business. I even went as far as to call them (kelloggs, general mills, campbells, etc) and tell them that if they can not prove to me through independant sources that their food does not contain GMO’s, preservatives, food coloring, wheat gluten (a hidden killer and major factor in the obesity problem), etc. etc they can kiss my $$$ goodbye.
I used to laugh and scoff at the “tree huggers” around my community for their rants on the need for local food. Now I am very appreciative. My community has a wonderful local farmers market and supply chain that includes everything from fruits, veggies,eggs, meat, wool, etc. I can only buy what is in season but I know who grew it and where it came from. Best of all I am supporting local family farmers not Tyson, Monsanto, etc, etc. What is even better most of the products are organic and grass fed.
The people in this country had better wake up about their government and the food supply.
Report Post »mjazzguitar
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 6:07amI wish I could recall in better detail, but I remember seeing recently where a lot of people were getting together to eat what they had produced and the “officials” came along and put on their latex gloves and disrupted everything and seized what they were about to eat and threw it away. I think the excuse may have been because they were serving food without a license. Everyone eventually got to eat salads.
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:19pmCan we get rid of all the PIGS/swine in DC? Lets draft a bill now…
Report Post »Sirfoldallot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:29pmAmen 2 that
Report Post »Intense66
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:17pmThe feral hog population is much greater than what is shown on the map; at least it is in rural Oklahoma, and not just along our southern border. I live in an area that is primarily farmers and ranchers and to speak with them…the feral hogs are more than just a nuisance, they are dangerous, especially the sows with babies, they would just as soon run you down and kill you as to look at you. I actually know someone who was chased by a feral hog; fortunately he was able to get into his pickup before it got to him! Between the hogs, the deer and the drought, it’s a wonder any of our hard working farmers can grow a crop of any kind!
Report Post »Intense66
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:32pmOne other thing… How do these hunting ranches propose to keep the hogs within the confines of the fences? You can’t! If the hogs want out, they are out. I don’t bemoan these people for trying to make a living, not in the least, but until you have had a run in with one or until you have lost an entire crop or livestock because of them… And without a sufficient number of predators to keep their numbers in check… It’s really a hard call.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 1:24amI too live in Oklahoma; but to say that we should purposefully annihilate a species from our state because it might be a physical threat to you is just ignorant. I’ve almost been killed by a brown recluse spider, I didn’t call for their complete removal from the state. And I can hear your reply now, “but the spider is an indigineous species and the hog isn’t”. Well, I’ve got news for you. You will not be able to successfully kill all of the wild hogs in Oklahoma and if you could, it would be a drain on our state which already has one of the highest state income tax rates in the nation. Your farmer friends have gotten what they lobbied (or people lobbied for them) for over the past century. That is to force the average American to eat only what they provide. This has driven down hunting in our culture and the gov’t has created a fixed price market for nearly all produce so that they can accept less and less risk year after year. Some even have it so well that the gov’t (we) pay them to grow NOTHING AT ALL! So please save me your story about someone you know almost getting “attacked” by a hog. I used to live on Camp Pendleton and run ins with mountain lions, rattlesnakes, or coyotes weren’t an all too rare occurrence. Also, his protection could have been better provided for if our state didn’t have suck restrictive gun laws and actually allowed us our natural and second amendment rights.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:16pmFeral pigs are illegal in MI? Good, maybe Michael Moore will have to move out now.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:33pmMike Moore could feed a family of four ows freaks for a week! They’ll even process him.
Report Post »ronin_6
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:13pmAll pigs in the americas with the exception of the javelina are “invasive” and non-native.
Report Post »Hickory
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:20pmWhere does Pelosi fit in this?
Report Post »hawkeyez
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:15pmNancy is definatly a feral pig.
Report Post »republic2011
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:10pmMore crony capitalism. Legislators using the environment and health and safety to take care of their big buddies in the pork industry.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:14pmIndeed.
Report Post »antrancher
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:09pmLet’s get serious. You have to know what this is all about! Swine…Michigan…Islam….
Report Post »Come on!
Attila_the_Hunney
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:16pmYou are absolutely correct. muslims hate dar colored or black animals, especially dogs. It’s the muslims in this country that need to be sent back to their sand dunes. Keep the pigs. islam is incompatible with the West and Michigan better pull it together.
Report Post »jaxson
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 8:11pmmy thoughts exactly.
Report Post »walkintruth
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:05pmWhere is PETA when you need them? Sounds like the environmental people are causing fears to the point of being ridiculous. We have starving people in the world and I don’t think they would mind if their dinner was feral or not. I think is to also make a food shortage. It attacks small businesses and farms.
Report Post »Does anyone think it has to do with Sharia Law seeing they don’t like pigs?
charleyrocks
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:11pmGod said man shall look after the animals, ok so he is not, consequences are swine flu..mad cow disease, and e coli..there are consequences for every evil action man does! including aids!.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:05pmAh yes this is classic crony capitalism at it’s finest,the big pork producers are using the power of the government to crush it’s competitors,it’s as simple as that.
Report Post »youdidthis
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:05pmApril Wine _ Sign Of The Gypsy Queen.mp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00TsuUzYguI&list=UUCgDi147zPJQ7tis4mn25Ww&index=10&feature=plcp
Judas Priest – You_ve got Another Thing Comin_.mp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FDHVe0H1Tk&feature=relmfu
my thoughts and feelings on the matter…
Report Post »normbal
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:04pmDamn. I didn’t know Uncle Ted played Banjo.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:15pmWhat, you think the guy only knows how to play a guitar? Now, if I learned that he could play a keyboard I would be shocked.
Report Post »kingbullnuts
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:03pmmuslims arnt native there either…………..get rid of them too……………..rub them in pig blood first
Report Post »CatB
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:26pmCall the DNR … they seem to be a law unto themselves .. they should be able to take care of it ;-)
Report Post »Sirfoldallot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:39pmCalling CHAIR now ,,, hello hello ,, they only understand pig latin.
Report Post »deeberj
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:01pmHorses aren’t native here. I think we need to eradicate all of them. I just don’t buy this “they aren’t native” crap as a reason to get rid of them.
If the wild feral pigs are so bad for farmers, allow anyone to hunt them with no limits as to time of year and how many. that will keep that population down or gone.
And if people are raising these “feral” pigs for food (I think this word is being used to make us think something specific) fine them if they get free and make better regs about how to fience them in.
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:26pmYou just can’t let farmers kill or grow any animal they want. Eventually they will want to kill a kangaroo rat or some endangered species. Didn’t Jimmy Carter have a hunt for wild boar with his Georgia friends in the Smokies right after he was elected? It seems that I remember that the pigs were tearing up the hillsides looking for acorns or anything else to eat and there was a lot of erosion caused. It seems like the state of Tennessee approved the import of Russian Boar to improve boar hunting. The reason I remember that is that someone wanted me to go hunting for wild boar but the state would not allow hunting with a pistol unless it was something above the energy level of a .357 Magnum. My 45 caliber automatic did not qualify as a legal means of taking wild boar. The state said it did not have enough knockdown power.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:21pmThat is the law in Oklahoma. Any licensed hunter can take a feral pig anytime of the year, even at night. You can spotlight them and trap them and no one cares. I think they’ll even let you use night vision scopes for crying out loud. Apparently Michigan doesn’t know how to handle their problems and they are allowing themselves to be used as a puppet for the farm industry.
And if they have a problem with an omnivore like a pig, why don’t they release some predators like a pack of wolves or a wolverine or two. Maybe a mountain lion. Oh, because the ranchers can’t be expected to take care of their cattle or their crops. I‘m sick of farmers screwing over this nation if you can’t tell.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:58pmIn Connecticut the Feral Pigs and Swine are in the State and Federal legislature. They root thru Taxpayers private live’s, and use the cash they steal to pass out walking money to illegal’s and the TAKER class.
Report Post »silentwatcher
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:06pmFERAL pigs are doing severe damage to the wild in many states and their population levels are exploding. If you must, go after the FERAL pigs population. Pig farmers are not responsible for the FERAL pig problem. You’re going after the problem in the wrong direction. I suspect the CORPORATE pig farms are tickled pink to put such a damper on the small pig farmers and may have financially supported the illegal law that’s been enacted.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:09pmThe feral pigs are in every state and the feds are pig vermin feeding at the trough as well,been doing it for well over a century and soon the wells gonna run dry,then we’ll see them really go hog wild.
Report Post »fande3rls
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:56pmWelcome to World Wide Fascism. this department over stepped its bounds and all there should be FIRED
Report Post »CatB
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:55pmThey should NOT be allowed to come on your land and take anything … as long as you have your livestock contained .. and you are in compliace with local zoning .. that being said .. I know Ted’s Hunting Ranch and part of the reason for this is because he did NOT keep all of his animals particularly swine on his property. The local area has been over run with wild boars from his ranch. I like Ted .. but when he moved to Texas his Michigan property was not secure.
Report Post »TSUNAMI-22
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:29pmI’m confused, does Ted still have his Michigan ranch or did he move away? I was wondering why we haven’t heard from him on this subject.
Report Post »dlivelli
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:55pmWell, what animal doesn‘t ’destroy’ the environment to some degree. Hey I live in FLA…did you know that when the space center first started they used to ‘encourage’ the employees to go out at lunch and shoot the wild hogs that are EVERYWHERE here. Lots of people shoot them for food. So they can at any time deem anything whatever they want and you are just what…….(you fill in the blank) This isn’t the soviet union yet but its gettin pretty close! We will soon be subjects instead of citizens…….
Report Post »taxpro4u03
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:13pmYes, indeed. I seem to recall some ‘story books’ which glorified the near-extinction of the north American Bison — “railroads GOT to go through…” — when essentially it was an elimination of a LIFEblood of a people who‘d prospered for thousands of years prior to the ’non-native‘ proliferation of ’disgruntled european descendents’ — History ‘doesn’t repeat itself, but seems to rhyme’ ~Mark Twain —– Whatcha think they’re doing with all the regulations of farms and FOOD sources now???? ;-) WAKE UP!!!!! They’re only RIGHTS is you exercise them properly, within the REPUBLIC’s Constitutional law Think Back to the Future — we ARE in an alternate time-frame continuum and have been since April 24, 1863 when General Order 100 was UNLAWFULLY invoked – Lincoln’s hand was FORCED by his Party. Union by FORCE=’conquered.’ – the Act of 1871 was a CORPOTATE act incorporating and already (year 1808) incorporated 10-sq mile area known as D.C. — Where’s Barton on THIS one????? :-) The 1776 revolution was a secession from…. England :-)
Report Post »toomuchgovt
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:55pmIn my area they all but banned “hunting” now we have a “feral” deer problem. They want to capture the deer, spay and neuter them. I am not kidding. The deer are eating the wealthy Ivy league professors flowers and lawns. I can’t stop laughing as I watch them make a home out of the “finest” homes and lawns in the area. I guess the grass must be greener (tastier) over there.
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:06pmYou must be in Bloomington, Indiana. I heard you can hunt deer with a Bowie knife because they are so thick.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:53pmRefresh my memory. Didnt the Government order livestock slaughtered, crops plowed under and burned and milk poured out during the great depression?
Report Post »Round 2….the extinction of America by it’s leaders.
silentwatcher
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:59pmthey change the law,,then enforce it immediately? without giving ‘the people’ a chance to respond? DNR does not enforce ‘livestock’ on private farms and have no authority to do so. Get a restraining order to hold them at bay. Then lock the gates to your entrance.
Report Post »silentwatcher
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:09pmnot to mention that:
fe·ral (fîrl, fr-)
adj.
1.
a. Existing in a wild or untamed state.
b. Having returned to an untamed state from domestication.
2. Of or suggestive of a wild animal; savage: a feral grin.
If they are on a farm and contained,,,,THEY ARE NOT FERAL.
Report Post »matamoros
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:19pm@baddoggy
“Refresh my memory. Didnt the Government order livestock slaughtered, crops plowed under and burned and milk poured out during the great depression?”
Report Post »==================================================
Really??? I’m not being sarcastic here, I really want to know if that happened? This is really a concern for me, since I too raise my own livestock and have my own garden.
Baddoggy
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:03pm@Matamoros…They even paid the farmers to do it too…So I am sure you would do the right thing? Probably not if they offer you enough money.
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:10pmThat was the old version of Economic Recovery. The theory was that it would raise the price of meat. To raise wages to help pay for the high cost of meat they encouraged unionism and a minimum wage.
Report Post »hidden_lion
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:53pmWould this be anti constitutional? Taking private property, and without a court order, but decided by non-elected officials. I would not allow them to touch my pigs, I wish i could go out and buy a few before they are confiscated.
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:50pmAll I can say is hurry November, so we can put a ban on this administration! Evil lurks in DC.. Where is someone in congress that can help?? Ahhhhhhhhh still taking a nap huh!! It figures!! Remember folks even the GOP is the problem.. they do nothing to stop this madness.. so they are a part of it! God help us!
Report Post »TXPilot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 2:59pmAt this point, the citizens of this country, are going to have to declare all members of the government an “invasive species” and declare war, to ever get our country back.
Report Post »Sirfoldallot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:33pmI hope we still can have bacon with our eggs.
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