This is concerning...

[greeneggsandham]

Not chicken related yet, but if there are any Michigan breeders out there, maybe they can keep the rest of us updated on this?  I know feral hogs are a big problem, but if this is true, I don\'t think it\'s the right way to handle it.

The ISO to be imposed on April 1 considers all but eight breeds of hogs to be feral. Those eight breeds are used in confinement buildings. That means the DNR can drive onto farms and homesteads that raise other breeds of swine and kill them on the spot...
Why should every American care about the DNR\'s move to kill Baker\'s and other Michigan farmer\'s hogs? You should be scared that whatever YOU hold dear will be on the next ISO. I look at our heritage Dexter cattle and heritage chickens and wonder when an ISO is going to wipe us out. Think it can\'t happen to you? There are ten states waiting to see how the Michigan DNR ISO turns out.


http://voices.yahoo.com/dnr-kill-hogs-small-family-farm-incomes-11173078.html?cat=17

[dixieland]

This is indeed concerning to all of us.....This sort of thing started 10-15 years ago with purebred dogs and so called \"Vicious Breeds\" it has escalated much more then we ever imagined, even with a lot of good representation on our side......
I am sad to say that our freedoms are not quite what they used to be, but I wouldn\'t trade living here for any other country in the world.....
Thanks for keeping us in the loop! This is important information for all of us...

[bryngyld]

feral - \"having returned to an untamed state from domestication\".  

If it is domesticated and in your pasture, it wouldn\'t be considered feral, would it?  I thought feral was referring to escaped animals like cats, horses, and hogs that were running loose and acting wild on public or other people\'s properties.

Truly wild hogs would be native species and be subject to hunting laws.  Feral hogs running loose would NOT require a license, etc. to be hunted.  Anyway, that\'s how I would interpret it.

[John]

If it is domesticated and in your pasture, it wouldn\'t be considered feral, would it?

Lyne,
You are using logical thought here, but forgetting we are talking about the government.  This is about control (the so called nanny state) and remember to follow the money.

http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/michigan-dnr-going-hog-wild.htm

There is strong demand for Baker’s products among consumers and restaurants in the Traverse City area. The farmer says that the ISO is a swipe at the local food movement and warns that government agencies in other states as well as the National Pork Producers Association are watching what happens in Michigan with an eye to taking similar action elsewhere.

[Beth C]

I remember a similar story involving hogs where they DID come in and kill them all, The family raised boar for hunting and some official came in posing as a hunter, shot a hog & had it tested and it allegedly tested positive for pseudorabies (NOT actual rabies), which was their justification to come in and destroy every hog on the place, including a couple pets that were housed separately. I don\'t remember where this happened but I don\'t think it was MI - I\'ll see if I can find the article...

... ok found it in a google search. This isn\'t the place I read it before, but it\'s the same article: http://www.thepowerhour.com/news2/WHO.htm

[Tailfeathers]

Thanks Green E&H for the post. While I don\'t live in MI, I know full well that what happens in one state often follows in others pretty quickly.  

John\'s sarcasm would be funny if it weren\'t so doggone true - though I still chuckled nonetheless.  

As a 20-year Vet who proudly served this country I find myself shaking my head more and more and wondering what country I live in these days.  Just this week I\'ve seen an email saying that Prez Obama signed some Executive Order that could put us all in a police state under maritial law whereby the Gov\'t could come in and confiscate my chickens because they are a \"food source\".  

Then there was the email about \"Military cadets are celebrating gay pride week at the nation’s oldest private military academy by holding a “Queer Prom” and a “Condom Olympics” and I won\'t even tell you what all that described as being done.

Then there is the redefinition of marriage in this state and many others.

And even this very day we have the Supreme Court trying to decide whether the Federal Government can mandate health care coverage and tell every citizen what they must or must not buy.

I could go on and on but I\'m beginning to feel like one of those folks who just wants to run to the mountains and be left alone!

Oh, before I go, I have a solution to the feral hog problem.  It\'s called \"Year \'Round Season, no license required, and no limits on harvest.\"  Anybody for a good BBQ?    

God Bless,

[Christie Rhae]

We have a terrible feral pig problem here in Hawaii.  These boars have hug tusks and can be very dangerous.  They are extremely destructive to native plants and forests.
There is no restriction on hunting.  It is a FAVORITE past time of locals here.  Pig hunting!  And they taste great cooked in an underground Imu...hawaiian style.  Sooo good!

[Beth C]

Royce: I\'ve spent my whole life around military - my dad did 30 years in the Army and my husband has been in the Marine Corp 15+ -  and what I see going on here is very unsettling. I\'d say easily 90% of the crime committed in our area, including but not limited to: drugs, armed robbery, rape, gang activity and murder, is committed by active duty military. We\'ve definitely gotten off on the wrong track...

[dixieland]

These are all great points!
Although it is not directly affecting us in our fancy yet, being educated on this sort of thing will help us all if and when (when being the important word here) the government starts targeting poultry.......

[vanalpaca]

Poultry will be targeted, just look out for avian flu, etc scares. Since wild birds carry so many things into our flocks, just keep yourselves educated and know your rights and who to call if they show up to eradicate your birds.

[Sharon Yorks]

know your rights and who to call if they show up to eradicate your birds.

What are our rights and who do we call?