Wild pig 'nonsense' in Michigan

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Michigan Pork Producers Association faces a tough task getting wild pigs, an invasive species, out of state hunt clubs. Not only is it up against some legislators, but it has also riled checkoff-paying small producers.

A press release issued by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund says: "For the factory pork breeders, this is about eliminating the competition. The Invasive Species Order ensures consumers will only have the choice of pork raised in confinement."

The accusations are "utter nonsense and blatantly inaccurate," says Michigan Pork's executive vice president Sam Hines. Only Eurasian and Russian wild boars and their crosses were targeted by state department of natural resources officers, starting April 1.

Hines says wild hogs carry pseudorabies. There is no major state slaughterhouse for pork. Commercial producers ship 20,000-30,000 weaners a week to finishers in Illinois and Ohio. The state would be quarantined if there was an outbreak and "financial hardship" would result.

Hines says there are 2,100 pork producers in Michigan and 1,500 have fewer than 100 head. "We represent everybody," he says.

There are 2,000-5,000 wild pigs in the state because they escaped from hunt clubs, Hines says. BP