GAME COMMISSION BEGINS DRAFTING REGULATIONS FOR WILD BOARS
In response to a recent state Supreme Court ruling, Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today directed staff to begin developing regulations to allow the incidental taking of wild boars during certain hunting seasons. The draft regulations are expected to be ready for the Board of Game Commissioners to consider as part of its Jan. 29 meeting agenda.
"On Dec. 27, a Supreme Court ruling, in effect, classified wild boars as 'protected mammals,'" Roe said. "Prior to the court's ruling, the Game Commission had no regulatory oversight or authority for wild boars. Now, we are seeking to clarify and appropriately regulate the protection of wild boars that was put in place by the court."
Roe stressed that wild boars are not native to the Commonwealth and are classified as an invasive species by the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Council.
"Wild boars found in the state are either domestic pigs, Eurasian wild boars, descendants of European and Asian hogs, or hybrids of these species that have escaped or been released," Roe said. "They should not be confused with the javelina, or collared peccary, which is native to the southwestern and southern U.S. and northern Mexico.
"Wild boars may weigh more than 400 pounds and are very prolific; they can produce litters of 8 to 12 young and can have two litters per year. They are extremely destructive to crops, wildlife habitat and the environment, and they are a danger to wildlife and domestic animals and a threat to the pork industry, especially since they are carriers of diseases and parasites that can infect livestock, wildlife and humans."
Roe noted that wild boars root and wallow, which destroys wildlife habitats. Destruction includes erosion along waterways and wetlands and the loss of native plants. Additionally, wild boars compete for food with deer, bears, turkeys, squirrels and many other birds and mammals. They are predators of small mammals and deer fawns as well as ground-nesting birds such as turkeys, ovenbirds and grouse including their nests and young.
For more information, please visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency website:
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=173330