As Michigan lawmakers struggle over the decision to ban wild hogs (feral and Eurasian) altogether, or to increase the regulations around them, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy is asking citizens to step up efforts to remove the animals from the wild.
From the Hunting Wire:
Wild Hog Removal Program Needs Citizen Help
BATH, Mich. – The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, a non-profit organization based in Bath, near Lansing, is asking citizens to help strike back against our state’s growing population of wild hogs. The Conservancy will offer a group training session for volunteer hog trappers at the Bay City State Park Visitor’s Center on Wednesday, October 6 from 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. Information about the session can be obtained by contacting the Conservancy at 517-641-7677 or via email at wildlife@miwildlife.org.The group has been educating people for several years about the threat posed by the estimated 3,000 to 5,000 wild hogs in Michigan, and has an action program that goes far beyond simply encouraging sport hunters to shoot wild hogs. Hundreds of wild boars, mostly of Eurasian stock, have escaped from hunting ranches and breeding/raising facilities in Michigan. Wild hogs have been confirmed in at least 69 of Michigan’s 83 counties. Most are in bands of fewer than 20 animals, but are reproducing in the wild and spreading. The hogs are already causing crop and forest damage, and diseases that could devastate the domestic swine industry have been found in free-roaming wild hogs shot in Michigan in two locations.
In 2008, the Wildlife Conservancy helped sponsor renowned wild hog expert, Dr. Jack Mayer, of South Carolina, who conducted several related seminars. Last January, the organization developed The Michigan Wild Hog Removal Program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services branch, the Federal Natural Resources Conservation Service and many other groups. The program aims to develop a network of trained volunteers who can work with biologists and technicians in a widespread hog elimination program. Volunteers can help find hogs and set and monitor corral-type traps provided through the program. Several traps have already been built with funds from the Conservancy and groups like the Michigan Pork Producers Association and Michigan Forest Association. During the next 12 months there will be a special effort in Arenac, Bay, Gladwin and Midland Counties.
To succeed at controlling wild hogs the Wildlife Conservancy would like to build and deploy 100 corral traps around the state. Each trap costs $500 for materials and labor, so $50,000 is needed just for the traps. The Conservancy is calling on sportsmen’s groups, conservation districts, farm organizations and all groups interested in wildlife and natural resources to sponsor a wild hog trap or host a fundraiser locally for the project.
“Wild hogs have gotten out of control in nearly 40 other states, causing an estimated $1.5 billion in damage to forests, residential areas, crops, and livestock annually,” said Conservancy President Bill Taylor, of Olivet. “We intend to make Michigan as inhospitable as possible for this exotic species, and need citizen help on many fronts – finding and reporting hogs, fund-raising, contacting legislators, and educating others about this menace.”
The Wildlife Conservancy is asking citizens to report the presence of wild hogs to USDA Wildlife Services at 517-336-1928 or via email at timothy.s.wilson@aphis.usda.gov. Wild hogs are nomadic, that is, they don?t stay long in any location. So, it is important that citizens report wild hogs immediately when they spot animals or see hog signs.
“Citizens are key to controlling Michigan’s growing wild hog problem,” said Tim Wilson, a biologist with USDA Wildlife Services. “The hogs are too widespread for traditional control efforts by governmental agencies to be cost effective. This partnership gives us a chance to deploy our resources where and when it will do the most good.”
