Hunters react to DNR order to kill sporting swine : News : UpperMichigansSource.com

Hunters react to DNR order to kill sporting swine

Posted: 10.18.2011 at 7:33 PM

Farms have been ordered to eliminate wild boars starting this month

WATSON -- The Michigan DNR has issued an order for the elimination of sporting swine by April 1. They're listed as an invasive species.

But the order is drawing outrage from hunters and game ranchers who say it'll only put people out of business and further hurt the economy.

There are over 1,000 wild boars at Superior Game Ranch in Watson. These hunts bring in over 50 percent of business. But according to owner Jeff DeBacker, the DNR order will mean a loss of $200,000 worth of gross revenue for one year.

“Private property rights are really being violated here,” explains DeBacker. “And we do need some legislators to step up to the plate and say this is wrong and not let the DNR take control of private property."

When asked about the finality, DNR officials said, "The state legislature could still pass a bill regulating the sporting swine industry, in which case the law would supersede the DNR’s invasive species order and allow for the possession of sporting swine under whatever regulatory requirements a bill established.”

According to the DNR, they pose a risk to spread disease to other animals. There are also concerns that free-roaming swine have escaped from game ranches and damaged agricultural land.

Twenty-one-hundred acres are fenced in at Superior Game Ranch. The fences are 10 feet high and 8 inches deep. Jeff DeBacker says in all their years of operation, none of the sporting swine have ever escaped.

And hunters say they enjoy the affordability of these lower-priced wild boar hunts.

“I think all sportsmen need to band together,” said hunter Dennis Dufek, “because I think this is just a further hit on sportsmen's freedom to hunt."

Many hunters say if they're going to spend money hunting, they want to keep it in Michigan and not have to travel out of state.

There are 65 sporting swine facilities in Michigan. DNR officials say facilities who still have sporting swine after April 1 will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.