Hunting for Wild Pigs

         We left the world of bovine TB for the day to visit feral swine farms.  If you aren’t up-to-date on feral swine issues (cause I can’t imagine who wouldn’t be), there is major debate currently in the legislature on whether to heavily regulate this formerly  lawless industry or to just declare feral swine an invasive species and ban anyone from owning them.  Those that want to eradicate feral swine cite the risk of these animals getting loose and possibly spreading pseudorabies to domestic pigs.  On the other hand, feral swine breeding and hunting operations are quite the business for those involved and I can’t imagine anyone in the legislature is exactly jumping chomping at the bit to wipe out businesses in Michigan.  There is one more side to this debate—that of the actual industry—which is anti-regulations and anti-bans.  This industry has largely been untouched by government, and producers do not see any need or right for the government to change that mentality.  With this knowledge in mind, we set out to visit some of these swine operations (we being “the government”).



A Russian Boar (the kind of pig we were looking for).

We set out for the first farm knowing that our presence might not be welcome.  Dr. Baer had placed multiple phone calls to these farms with no answer, so we were showing up on their property without warning.  The goal of these visits was to get an idea of whether or not these farms were still in operation and the number of animals. 

            The first property was just south of Grand Rapids and seemed to be in a rural, but upscale area (farms with large mansions interspersed).  We drove up to some pretty formidable-looking gates, which Dr. Baer stayed outside of out of respect for private property.  We could see an ostrich on the back property, but no sign of wild pigs.  It took some searching by Dr. Baer, but we finally located the owner, who turned out to be a very friendly man.  We struck out on finding wild pigs as this owner had gotten rid of them a number of years ago, but found ourselves in an entire zoo.  Although busy, the owner did give us a quick tour, showing us his water buffalo, Ankole cattle (African breed), and gazelles.  The only thing missing were some lions and tigers, but this zoo-owner was skipping out on the hassle of all the paperwork and permits required to maybe own a large carnivore.  I guess it is next to impossible to get permission to have one due to the Large Carnivore Act.

Couldn't take a picture of the actual Ankole cattle, but here's an idea of what they looked like.

          The next farm took us north into Muskegon.  It again took some searching, but we found the producer who again turned out to be an incredibly welcoming man.  It turned out that despite our records showing his property was quarantined for pseudorabies, he had never owned pigs, feral or domestic.  I guess with all the paperwork and mixture of government agencies, mistakes happen. He did have about 30 captive deer, including a white buck named Blanzy that they had bottle-fed as a baby.  The producer did explain that for CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) surveillance he has to submit one out of every 4 heads from deer that he kills or that die naturally.  The brains are examined for CWD lesions as that is the only way to “test” for the presence of the disease.

Blanzy- the white buck

          Last farm of the day took us to Dorr, Michigan (bet you’ve never heard of that town) and we finally found some feral swine, along with sheep, kittens, chickens, deer, and one lone elk.  We had been warned that this producer was incredibly difficult to work with, but as before, reputations don’t always match with reality.  He welcomed us onto his property and encouraged Danielle and I to take pictures and ask questions.  Unfortunately, this producer was getting out of the feral swine business because he couldn’t find a way to please the DNR.  Apparently, DNR officers liked showing up unannounced on his property and were constantly changing their minds about how he needed to manage his animals.  The producer already slaughtered his breeding stock and now only had a few remaining piglets that would be gone by this summer (pig roasts and such).  Feral swine can be distinguished from domestic pigs by the presence of stripes on the piglets (Feral swine are often purebred Russian boars or have bloodlines from that breed). 

Piglets on the Dorr Farm

          In addition to showing us his pigs, the producer took us on his back 30 acres to see the deer that he raises for game hunting.  People pay him to come onto his property and shoot his deer.  A hunt on his property can cost someone as much as $3000.  After seeing his deer, it quickly became clear why it would be so expensive.  His bucks still had velvet on their antlers, but all of them had 8+ points.  These were not like the captive deer at the other property that were clearly used to being pet and hand-fed.  We had to hide behind the truck to get these deer to even come close enough to take pictures.  Clearly, these deer were used to hunters and not going to be easily shot, even if it was only by our cameras.



Deer cautiously eating on the Dorr Farm (we're hiding behind the truck).



A White-tailed buck and a Sika Buck

           I had never been on a game hunting facility before and in my mind I pictured these owners as heartless businessman only raising deer that could be easily picked off.  What I found though, at least on this property, was that this man clearly loved his deer and was proud of how healthy they were.  In addition, he participates with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to allow kids that like to hunt to come onto to his property into a blind that is wheelchair accessible.  DNR might see a very different side of this man, but we were pleasantly surprised by this visit as well as the other two.  I didn’t make it home till after 9pm, but I certainly felt like I had gotten a whole course on feral swine and the people that participate in this industry.