During the past three months, wild hogs have been at the center of an often fierce debate.  Five House bills and four Senate bills were introduced in mid-March that, if passed, will allow game ranches and breeding facilities to continue to import and distribute wild hogs in Michigan.  The bills would negate a pending ban on possessing live wild hogs. 

In December 2010 the Michigan Department of Natural Resources classified the wild hog as an invasive, exotic and prohibited species under Public Act 451, Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.  The DNR was required by the Act to prohibit possession of any invasive species that met certain criteria.  The wild hog, which does more than $1.5 billion worth of damage annually to crops, forests and livestock nationwide, met all criteria.  The long-awaited action was seen as critical to “shutting off the faucet” of wild hogs escaping from game ranches and breeding facilities across the state over the past ten years.  But the game ranch industry has pushed legislators to replace the ban with a regulatory approach that would allow game ranches to continue to import and keep wild hogs.

The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy is urging citizens to rally against the proposed legislation.  The Conservancy is part of the Coalition to Preserve Michigan Agriculture and Natural Resources (CPMANR), a group of non-profit organizations concerned about the growing threat to Michigan’s natural and agricultural resources posed by wild hogs.  The Coalition supports programs and projects aimed at reducing wild hog numbers in our state and is opposed to any attempts by the legislature to merely regulate rather than ban the destructive animals. 

Because of escapes from game ranches we now have thousands of wild hogs that are reproducing in the wild and destroying habitat in many areas.  To date, most of this damage has been on private lands, but the fast-reproducing menace is spreading onto public lands as well.  The Conservancy spearheads the Michigan Wild Hog Removal Program, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several private-sector groups.  The Program trains volunteers to trap and eliminate wild hogs.

“Our volunteers are trapping wild hogs and collecting information that strongly suggests some game ranches are still leaking the exotic animals,” said Dr. Patrick Rusz, the Conservancy’s Director of Wildlife Programs.  “It would be extremely short-sighted for the legislature to let this continue through a risky, cumbersome, and costly regulatory effort.  We need the ban to go into effect on July 8 as scheduled.”

The Conservancy has testified several times in support of the ban and in opposition to the proposed legislation.  The organization and other CPMANR members have met individually and in groups with legislators and agency officials, trying to counter misinformation presented by the bill sponsors and representatives of the game ranch industry (see sidebar).  When this issue of The Wildlife Volunteer went to press, the House Agriculture Committee had not yet voted on the matter.

The CPMANR includes the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Michigan Audubon, UP Whitetails – Marquette County, GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Michigan Agri-Business Association, Michigan Allied Poultry Industries, Inc., Michigan Corn Growers Association, Michigan Milk Producers Association, Michigan Pork Producers Association, Michigan Soybean Association, and Potato Growers of Michigan, Inc.

THE TRUTH ABOUT WILD HOGS IN MICHIGAN

During the past eight weeks, supporters of four House Bills that would negate a pending ban on possessing live wild hogs made statements that are simply incorrect.  Wild hogs have been studied long and carefully enough that many aspects of their nature and behavior are not debatable.  We feel compelled to set the record straight, and dispel myths that could hamper understanding of Michigan’s growing problem.

(Myth)  The wild hogs on the loose in Michigan came mostly from illegal releases, and escapes of domestic pigs from farms.

(Reality)  There likely have been some illegal releases and some escapes of domestics, but the vast majority of hogs on the loose in our state undoubtedly came from game ranches and related breeding facilities where several well-documented escapes have occurred (e.g., in Midland and Saginaw Counties.)  Wild hogs with ear tags from game ranches have been shot in Dickinson and Hillsdale Counties.  There was no wild hog problem before large numbers of ranches began selling wild hog hunts.  The hogs being shot, trapped, hit by cars and photographed in Michigan are predominately Eurasian wild boar of the type found at the game ranches and breeding facilities.  There is ample evidence that game ranches are continuing to leak wild hogs.  

(Myth)  There are few, if any, wild hogs on the loose in Michigan.

(Reality)  Wild hogs have been reported in 69 of Michigan’s 83 counties and hundreds have already been killed or trapped.  Documentation with photos from trail cameras and kill data indicate significant breeding populations in at least 18 large areas of Michigan.  They are particularly numerous in Arenac, Bay, Midland, Gladwin, Mecosta, Hillsdale and Cheboygan Counties.  Knowing the exact number of wild hogs on the loose in Michigan is not necessary or helpful before starting eradication efforts.  It is clear there are enough wild hogs to warrant urgent action.  Estimates can be made by applying multipliers to kill data and assumptions of hog density based on the frequency of damage and observed sign.  Depending on how conservatively multipliers are derived, estimates of wild hogs in Michigan as low as 1,000 or as high as 5,000 are reasonable.  Wild hogs do not likely number in the tens of thousands at this time, so it might still be possible to eradicate them.  

(Myth)  The Michigan legislature dealt effectively with the wild hog problem last year when it allowed citizens to shoot any free-ranging hogs.

(Reality)  The legislation that passed last year will not control wild hogs already on the loose.  Nowhere in the U.S. has opportunistic shooting taken enough wild hogs to stabilize or reduce the population.  About 65% of the wild hogs must be taken annually; Michigan citizens will probably shoot no more than 10-20% in any year.  Eradication will require much more effort and a complete stop to any more hogs entering the wild.  Last year’s legislation was just a small step.

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