Posted by LJD on March 13, 2012 at 18:26:45 from (75.251.72.247):
I just got a letter from a fellow member of the ALBC (American Livestock Breeds Conservancy). She specializes in certain Old World pig breeds. She's afraid her State of Michigan is going to make them illegal.
I read the proposed law and to me it seems to vague to enforce. Who knows? I wonder how many of these politicians would know a wild pig when they saw one? Here's the story . .
The State of Michigan will be banning a very specific type of pig from private ownership: the “wild boar”. They are doing so by adding it to the Invasive Species list for that state. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources writes:
40.4 Additional prohibited species.
(1) Possession of the following live species, including a hybrid or genetic variant of the species, an egg or offspring of the species or of a hybrid or genetically engineered variant, is prohibited:
(a) New Zealand mud snail (potamopyrgus antipodarum).
(b) Wild boar, wild hog, wild swine, feral pig, feral hog, feral swine, Old world swine, razorback, eurasian wild boar, Russian wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus). This subsection does not and is not intended to affect sus domestica involved in domestic hog production.
(c) The department shall consult with staff from the Michigan department of agriculture on the development of a phased compliance protocol for the implementation of this section.”
As many heritage breeds are closer to wild boar than their domestic counter parts, it looks like they’ll be getting murdered much sooner then they typically would be, and probably not even eaten, let alone be sold. In a letter written to Representative Edward McBroom, Rodney A Stokes, Director of Natural Resources for Michigan, wrote that:
“The Ruling outlines how the prohibited species will be identigied; by phenotype, not by genotype.”
Phenotype means by physical characteristics. Genotype means by genetics. So, there is no hard science to fall back on when determining if a pig fits the bill to get a bullet in the head and get banned, or be allowed to remain alive and get sold. Rather, its the subjective viewpoint of someone from the Department of Natural Resources who gets the final word. As many heritage breed pigs have many of the characteristics of feral pigs, this law would, in practice, ban them from the state as well. What would be left is domesticated pigs, which are pretty much exclusively used in large-scale pig operations.
In a report from Interlochen Public Radio, a farmer said when talking of his pigs that, “They have erect ears, which I have heard that the erect ear is something associated with the Russian boar.” Which could mean being banished from your farm, whisked away to ban-land where pigs go to be banned by human beings.
Why Is Michigan Doing This?
The ostensible reason is to keep feral hogs from wreaking havoc to ecosystems around the state. A very legitimate reason.
But, as the classification of ‘wild boar’ is so wide ranging, and the interpretation of them so subjective under their ‘phenotype’ classification, the actually ramifications of this is ultimately detrimental to small-pig operations that often depend on special heritage breeds to develop and nurture their niche markets.
There are better ways to manage wild boar, such as creating a much more targeted ban on specific breeds, aka by genotype. Another way might be to manage feral hogs in their natural environment, rather than in a domesticated environment. More hunting licenses for feral hog could be encouraged, and better wild feral management could be put in place.
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