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New Wild Hog Rules Proposed in Texasarticle furnished by: Bob Hillman, Executive Director and Carla Everett of Texas Animal Health Commission
Proposed Wild Hog Rules Aim to Aid Producers, Trappers & Hunters
Described as being as prolific as cockroaches, destructive as rats,
and as surly as badgers, wild (feral) hogs are the bane of ranchers
and farmers, but they're a boon for hunters. Nearly three million of
these dirt slingin' critters roam free in Texas, rooting up pastures,
wallowing in creek beds, and gorging themselves on crops and
gardens. Trappers and hunters often are called in to help reduce hog
numbers when feral swine run amuck.
For nearly a year, a team of commercial swine and show pig producers,
slaughter plant operators, veterinarians, hunters, hog trappers and
wildlife biologists have wrestled with rule ideas that would prevent
captured wild hogs from creating more chaos, while still giving
hunters an opportunity to bag a boar trophy worth bragging rites. In
mid-May, draft regulations were presented to commissioners for the
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock and
poultry health regulatory agency. Public comment on the proposed
rules, to be published in the Texas Register June 6, will be accepted
by the TAHC through July 6. TAHC commissioners will consider the
rules for adoption at their next meeting on July 29 in Austin.
"The 80th legislature, in the TAHC's Sunset Bill, provided for the
TAHC to regulate feral swine, which are regarded as free-ranging
livestock. The TAHC regulations are to be limited to disease control
purposes, including holding facilities, sale, exhibition, hunting or
movement," said Dr. Dee Ellis, Texas' assistant state veterinarian
and TAHC advisor to the feral swine working group. "If these
proposed rules are adopted, they will supersede TAHC's current feral
swine regulations that aren't comprehensive. We know we can't get
rid of feral swine, but we can find ways to deal with the animals so
that it benefits all sectors of the industry."
Dr. Ellis said the proposed regulations give trappers greater
latitude for holding and moving trapped swine. Approved holding
facilities and authorized hunting preserves would be sanctioned and
inspected by the TAHC, and operators or owners would be required to
keep records on the animals for at least five years. Applications
for operating the holding facilities or hunting preserves will be
available from the TAHC, if the regulations are adopted.
Because there is some limited interest in changing captured feral
swine to "domestic" swine by testing the animals, the proposed
regulations would allow for wild hogs to be reclassified as
"domesticated" pigs after a series of at least three negative blood
tests for swine Brucellosis and pseudorabies during a minimum 150-day
quarantine period. (This practice is not recommended, however.)
Additionally, sows and other sexually intact female swine would be
required to undergo a fourth negative test for the diseases, at least
30 days after their initial farrowing in quarantine.
The disposition of feral swine that are not "domesticated" through
the quarantine and testing process is limited to slaughter only,
except for boars and barrows, which may be moved to TAHC-authorized
hunting preserves.
The proposed rules also would allow for the wild pigs to be held
after trapping in an escape-proof pen or enclosure on a trailer for
up to seven days before moving the animals directly to a federally or
state-inspected slaughter plant, to a TAHC-authorized hunting
preserve, or to an approved holding facility, awaiting final disposition.
The proposed rules would allow only boars and barrows to be moved to
TAHC-authorized hunting facilities, which would have to be equipped
with swine-proof fencing at least five feet high. Boars and barrows
also would have to be individually identified prior to being placed
into the preserve.
Hunting preserve operators would need a "Hunting Lease License" and
hog hunters would need a hunting license, both from the Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department, but there is no season on these animals so
often regarded as a pest and a threat to livestock health.
"It is extremely important that proposed holding facilities and
hunting preserves be 'escape proof.' Identification on the boars and
barrows in hunting preserves would help us identify pigs that 'get
loose,' " said Dr. Ellis. Required record-keeping would include the
number of swine placed in or removed from the facilities, the
animals' weight, size, color, sex and any identification applied to
the animal, and the locations from which they were trapped and to
which they were moved.
"Strict requirements are necessary to prevent moving an animal that
has a potential livestock disease from one site to another," said Dr.
Ellis. "From tests on feral swine over a four-year period, we know
that around 20 percent of wild hogs in Texas carry pseudorabies, a
regulatory flu-like swine disease not related to rabies. About 10
percent of the feral pigs have swine Brucellosis, the swine form of
"Bangs," or cattle Brucellosis."
Since January 2006, the swine form of Brucellosis has been detected
in 26 cattle in 19 herds. Although the swine infection in cattle
does not affect Texas' hard-won 'free' status for cattle Brucellosis,
it does cause positive test results when cattle are tested prior to
sale. The bacteria must be "grown out" in the laboratory to
differentiate between swine Brucellosis and cattle Brucellosis
infection. In the meantime, cattle in the consignment or herd must be
held up, and additional tests may be needed to ensure there is no
cattle Brucellosis infection in the herd.
Feral swine also can have a health impact on noncommercial swine,
which may be housed in facilities that are more likely to have feral
swine contact than commercial swine facilities. Of the 41
noncommercial swine herds quarantined for swine Brucellosis infection
since January 2003, 29 either had definite or possible contact with
wild hogs.
" 'Contact with feral swine' can be as simple as a wild sow or boar
either being allowed in, breaking into swine pens, or making contact
through a fence," noted Dr. Ellis. "Related contacts" can include an
activity such as purchasing piglets from a producer who allows feral
swine into his or her pens. In this case, a buyer could be
purchasing piglets that have been exposed to disease carried by feral swine.
Dr. Ellis advised domestic swine owners to keep feral swine out of
their pens. When purchasing replacement swine by private treaty, ask
if the pigs have been exposed to feral swine. If possible, keep the
animals isolated until tested for swine Brucellosis and pseudorabies.
At livestock markets selling sexually intact swine six months of age
or older, these tests are required, and blood samples are collected
from the animals by TAHC personnel.
"Commercial swine herds are operated with great attention to
biosecurity, and in Texas, these herds currently are swine
Brucellosis and pseudorabies-free," said Dr. Ellis. But each time we
detect infection in a noncommercial herd, it puts a hardship on
producers, because we must trace animal movement, test herds in a
widespread area, and handle infected herds appropriately. Swine
brucellosis also poses a significant public health threat to those
handling or inadvertently producing infected animals. By adopting
regulations that make it easier for trappers to remove feral swine
from an area, and place boars and barrows only in a hunting facility,
we encourage legal regulated movements of the animals and have less
chance of disease transmission from these wild hogs. These proposed
regulations can benefit swine producers, cattlemen, trappers and hunters, too."
More information is available at the TAHC website at
http://www.tahc.state.tx.us. The proposed regulations also are available by calling the TAHC at 800-550-8242, ext 710. Comments on the proposed rules may be faxed to 512-719-0719, or mailed to TAHC Comments, Box 12966, Austin, TX 78711-2966.
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