Read News: Hogs go wild in Michigan: Rise in sightings and population threaten boar hunting operations

Hogs go wild in Michigan: Rise in sightings and population threaten boar hunting operations

HUDSON -- Joe Houser went deer hunting Dec. 16 and shot something else that day in Hillsdale County: A 300-pound sow pig that took two men to load onto a four-wheeler.

It wasn't Houser's first encounter with feral hogs. Five years ago he was chased by a pig; the incident shook him so badly he has changed his hunting habits.

"I know it sounds bad -- I'm 25 -- but I won't walk out in the dark because of the pigs," Houser said. "I'm afraid I'm going to walk up on one in the dark. You just never know."

Chances are most city folks have never seen a wild boar scurrying around their back lot. But in recent months dozens of hunters and outdoors enthusiasts have experienced frightening encounters with the ill-tempered, elusive beasts. Some have reported being chased up trees by hogs, and the problem doesn't stop there: wild pigs destroy crops, disrupt ecosystems, ravenously eat wildlife and have the potential to devastate the state's $7 million domestic swine industry with disease.

They're also prodigious breeders. State officials are so concerned about the burgeoning pig problem that they've given a clear directive to hunters who spot wild swine: Shoot them on sight.

Last week state wildlife officials released new data that show Michigan's wild hog population is feverishly increasing and has infiltrated four new counties since last year, bringing the total number of counties with feral swine sightings up to 56 in both the Upper and Lower peninsulas.

"The pigs are breeding. They breed twice a year and can have up to 10 piglets a litter. One person saw a sow with 20 pigs. The Michigan weather is not discouraging them," said Kristine Brown, with the Wildlife Disease Laboratory in the state Department of Natural Resources.

Where the pigs are coming from is not clear. State wildlife officials, who rely on residents to report sightings, suspect the wild pigs are escapees from hog breeding farms and recreational hunting facilities, which are scattered across the state and are as large as 6,000 acres. In both instances, it is suspected that the beasts ram through fencing systems that typically hold in deer or other tame livestock.

Anywhere from 60 to 300 pounds, these massive, mysterious creatures don thick, bristly coats. Tusks protrude from their giant snouts. Many are black; some are bi-colored or with spots. And they love to eat anything: crops, deer fawns, game bird eggs, even deer carcasses.

Since 2001 the state has collected data on feral swine sightings. The numbers have steadily grown over the past seven years, with 116 separate hog sightings in 56 counties including three in Oakland County and one in a Wayne County Metropark.

The report also said 127 swine have been shot and killed in the 51 counties where the shooting of feral swine has been approved. The DNR tested 20 of those animals and found them to be disease-free, but officials fear the animals are at high risk for transmitting pseudorabies, bovine tuberculosis and trichinosis to people and livestock.

Last April, as the number of sightings steadily increased, the departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources formed a task force to tackle the problem, promising aggressive action.

Their recommendations -- banning all recreational shooting of swine inside fences, prohibiting swine breeding for recreational hunting, banning the importation of pigs for hunting and allowing year-round shooting of feral swine -- have put the state at odds with business owners who breed wild boars and operate hunting lodge facilities.

"I don't want to see the hog-hunting industry shut down. I have no doubt there are some places where pigs are getting out and they want to shut the hunting operations down. But there are facilities that are set up to control and breed pigs. They have not had any problems," said Alex Draper, president of the Michigan Deer and Elk Farmers Association and a deer farm breeder, who sits on the task force. "The state of Michigan is already in bad shape to shut another business down."

Greg Johnson, owner of Bear Mountain Lodge in Negaunee, where out-of-towners pay $1,700 for the experience of hunting an imported Russian Boar inside a private enclosure, says feral swine are a threat to his healthy robust boars imported from Canada.

"They (the DNR) want to shut everything down. The DNR doesn't own the state of Michigan, the people do. The boars aren't the problem -- it's how they are managed," Johnson said. "Can you do this and can you do it right? Yes. It costs money and monitoring and time. I inspect my fence weekly. If you don't have a nice fencing system you are a liability no matter what you have."

Shannon Hanna, a wildlife biologist for the DNR wildlife division, said Oklahoma's problems with feral swine started small a decade ago. Today state workers are shooting 4,000 pigs a year on nuisance calls alone.

"At this point we are losing hope to eradicate them," Hanna said of the problem in Michigan. "Shutting off the faucet is stopping importation, stopping the breeding facilities and not allowing game farmers to have boar hunts. These pigs are so good at reproduction, they are elusive and hard to shoot. We are not hopeful."

News Source: Detnews.com

Posted On January 29, 2008 11:39

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