A number of small family farms in rural Michigan may be shutdown by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), after they passed a new law that bans farmers from raising certain breeds of free range pigs.
The DNR issued a declaratory ruling that says any pig that displays certain characteristics (characteristics that almost all free range pigs show) be deemed a feral pig that must be destroyed. Anyone that refuses to kill their pigs will be effectively turned into a felon that could face major jail time.
Beginning April 1st 2012, Michigan’s “Invasive Species Order” (ISO) makes raising certain types of free range pigs a felony crime, punishable by up to four years in prison. The order allows the Michigan DNR to seize, and destroy the free range breeds without compensating the farmers whose pigs are killed. Remember, these are the same type of pigs that small family farmers have been successfully raising for decades in Michigan. In fact, the order is so broad that almost all pigs, with the exception of those raised in large commercial slaughterhouses, would be affected.
These farmers are now stuck with only two choices; face the prospect of becoming a felon, or see their farm shutdown and their livelihood taken away.
And THESE are the FREE range pigs!!! That’s SO disturbing and should be criminal!
The precedence in this persecution is in our history. The corporations won out in a huge war against the interests in individual citizens. These people want all of America’s privately held resources for themselves. They want your savings accounts, your retirement accounts and your property. They want the individual citizen to labor as a slave to serve their interests. Why do you think that they want to take your fire arms? Your government is behind this “terrorism” claim that they use to justify knocking out the 2nd amendment with. A holocaust is coming to the USA.
No Farms, No Food
No problem. Corporate farms will be the only legal farms.
You realize the problem with that statement yes? Just let big industry take over all huh is that it? So fuck it your cool with letting them take our most basic rights and freedoms and now our ability to provide for one self and your just cool with that?
Thhis is another in a growing succession of bureaucracy impeding the freedom and liberty of the citizens of the United States. These pigs do not even fit the definition of feral EXCEPT as it has been redefined by the Michigan DNR. An absolute travesty…and a misappropriation of authority and resources by the DNR.
If you knew what they were trying to do you would uinderstand this law… And if you understood it you would know it was very poorly writen. Free range is a broad term when feral is used that narrows it down quite a bit. An undomesticated or wild hog looks quite different than the ol porky your used to.long snout big cutter teeth up front and a terminator attitude. Catch one the guys alive or put the stick on one and you will understand that raising wild hogs is not only stupid it dangerous (they will eat you). Folks down here try to trap and feed them to make a hogzilla…it also sweetens up the meat a bit.
They need to show a picture of a russian or javelina not this old sow… Gives people the wrong impresson. If its illegal to raise tigers in MI I would understand because I would put a pack of hungry hogs against any tiger and put money on that they will be eaten kitty for dinner.
And to those who intend to raise them… Good luck building a fence that will contain them you will just be waisting feed… I have trapped and sold back the same boar to the same “wild game” ranch who are my neighbors 5 times before I finally just shot the sob… And then we ate him… He was pretty good.
How is a wild game ranch the same as a farm? I agree with the wild game ranch ban, but a farm ban is an over reach of power. There’s a hog farmer 2 miles from me, been there for decades, he ain’t never lost a pig.
you need to read the law because those pigs in the picture would be considered illegal under this law.
the law is vague
I think that is the point that this article is trying to make. The law, as written, is too vague to be legitimate. The issue being that the overly vague wording means that the law can be enforced according to the letter, rather than the spirit. This is quite commonly done when a business that is complying with a certain law’s vagueness reports another for suspicion of violation. Then the assets are seized, the company goes out of business trying to fight it, and is eventually exhonorated, but has no way of getting back the lost money of a bogus court battle. Also, keep in mind, the government chooses when the case gets heard, so the company is shut down, usually, for more than half a year, a death sentence for small business.
HogDoggin, if YOU knew what they were trying to do, you would understand what’s really going on here. Even if everything you said up there is 100% right, you misunderstand the real intent of this law.
Corporate factory farm executives who haven’t even set a foot in their own CAFOs for many years have finally lined the pockets of the right people well enough that it is close to illegal to raise pigs any OTHER way than THEIR way in Michigan.
If you can’t beat ’em, make ’em join you.
Any why make them join you? So that their “alternative, free range pork” product isn’t available in the stores. Because once people taste the difference, they’ll pay more for less.
Ok… I would like to see what their classifaction of feral characteristics are… You may be right. There’s a lot of differences from the pigs on a farm and the russians and javelinas we hunt. I am just saying I know what they can do. I have trapped, shot, stabbed, tied. And even shot from a helicopter thousands and they are breeding faster than we can kill them. However some domestics can be found in feral packs. Its hard to tell what’s going on with out reading it word for word. Like I said in my first post good intent poorly exicuted.
Well a domestic pig farm isn’t going to get most of these charactistics no matter if they are free range (which means abosolutley nothing except where the pig feeds). What they are trying to do is cut out feral genitic markers. But like most yankees they got preoccupied on the hair do and forgot about the 6 inch fangs coming out of their demonic looking snout. I would worry too much in I where raising pigs in MI, but hey I don’t care I making some coin trapping hogs and taking folks out on hunts in Tx.
The issue being that the law doesn’t require multiple characteristics, but can prosecute for even just one characteristic. So, get one hog that has any of these characteristics, even if they were recessive traits that haven’t been seen on your farm in generations, and you are now a felon.
DNR what a joke they have become, people have been bringing them in from the south and turning them loose in the woods, They will never stop it!!! So now they want to stop the small farmer from raising pigs for sale an food. Your fighting a battle you can,t win DNR!!!
Wouldn’t a hunting season on ACTUAL wild hogs make more sense?? There are many domestic hogs with black, brown and red hair. Read the “rules” they are following..http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/MDNR_DECLARATORY_RULING_2011-12-13_FINAL_371200_7.pdf
Ahhh haaa stand fast while I give this a gander… Will get back with you asap.
Actually If you encounter a wild Hog in Michigan while legally hunting anything, it is legal to shoot it anywhere in the state.
So I guess there is a ‘season’ for them any season there is!
After a review of the actual law all you would need is 3 identifiers (skull, ears, tail) which you can really get by with just the skull a true fatcat must have put in the rest. Like I said their heart was in the right place their head was not. Hogs are open season (hunt all year long with no bag limit in TX). Yall need something like this but not this. Otherwise they will be thick in yalls neck of the woods too. To the guy who wants a free range porkchop… If you could finish it you’d be a tougher man than me. They big one are fun to fight but not to eat.
There heart was not in the right place. If it was they wouldn’t have been working with the Michigan Pork Grower’s Association to shut down these small farms. Everyone knows exactly what this is! It’s the big guy scared of the small guy having the better product.
The fact is it’s much more than those 3 identifiers. And the law also allows them to add any identifier at anytime they want. If this was about stopping wild hogs they would be out hunting wild hogs not going after farmers and threatening them with 4 years in jail.
Ok farmboy let’s see who they get to inforce this. And if your crops ever got anhiltaed by feral hogs cause your neighbor is trying to raise them so people can spend money to hunt what I let people hunt for free Holler back at me. You may know a lot about the laws and government but YOU don’t know nothing about the feral hogs. You don’t want morons trying to raise ferals next to your property. There is absolutley know barrier known to man that could keep them out. And if you want to get real nasty just dump a russian boar over on the big guys farm… What isn’t killed will be pregnant with stock he can’t sell.
@hogdoggin If you actually read the law you would see this has nothing to do with Feral Hogs. I raise Hogs and if I lived in Michigan my hogs would be killed because of this DNR Law. They are killing FREE RANGE HOGS. If it was feral hogs they were after then they would not be going after the farmers that are raising free range pigs that have nothing to do with Feral Hogs.
I realize you probably work for the DNR or the Michigan Pork Association and are just trying to discredit anyone who speaks up, but you are WRONG and this law is WRONG. Many farmers will go broke or to jail because of it. THANK YOU MICHIGAN
Yeah after finally being able to watch the video I agree that they are after the wrong guys for the wrong reasons. This guy just has hybrids andyou look at their snout and they haven’t had to forage for several generations. Yea fuck them for trying to take a mans lively hood. I am truely sorry I argued for the law these fuckers made and I would like to apologize to the board for not having flash player on my bb. (Had to watch it when I get home) and sorry to you to farmboy. I feel like sending these bitches a skull of a real one so they can get the picture. With just reading the law I knew they where going a little extreme but seeing what they called feral they need to get their asses down here to experience some real feral hogs…
Michigan Muslims do not want pigs “free ranging” on property that they may want to own.
I don’t get it. The people that passed that law are free range pigs, so why would they do such a thing.
Just another example of corporations using money to influence our laws so they can control the market. Forcing hard working Americans out of jobs….I believe our government is more concerned with making payoffs rather than thinking of the good of the nation…
I swear america is turning into a communise country. We are not free to farm anymore.
This is a another great example of what happens to the little guy when big business and big government collaborate. I live in central Texas and have been on a few hog hunts around here and NONE of the hogs/pigs in the video exhibit the characteristics of the animals I’ve encountered. Creating a law that classifies these animals as feral based purely on physical features is insane. I would much rather capture a LIVE example of a true feral hog and have it delivered to the state capitol for their reference. It’s time we take our country back from corrupt politicians and greedy companies.
The government Is a big hurry to pass laws that will make every
One of us citizens a felon to take and strip all of our rights.
You want the truth that the prostitute media does not report.
Read, listen, know and start standing for what is our God given right.
FREEDOM.
SPREAD THE WORD
prisonplanet.com
Infowars.com
LOOK UP MICHIGAN RIGHT TO FARM ACT 93 OF 1981
Call and write your congressman and the governor. Let your voice be heard. Then organize and stand with the farmers when you can get a heads up that the DNR is coming. There is strength in numbers.
This can not be settled by voting or peaceful resistance. These gov. people are enemies of the State and the US Constitution. I time to consider tea party acts. I think this will have to be resolved fighting fire with fire KKK style – ski mask and gloves. Drag them out of their gov. homes in the middle of the night, strip them and their families naked, burn their houses and cars to the ground with petro, destroy house pets, and leave them blindfolded and naked in the street. Judge or enforcement alike. These gov. people are enemies of the citizens of the United States. This is not about food safety but corporations using the gov. enacted laws to take over our food supply and profit by removing all competition. Very very evil stuff. Eye for eye.
i live in Texas we have feral hogs no liscenc required if you own property. hunt all year round.it puts meat on the table. these mi farmers are raisng and perfecting a product. THey found a niche of consumers they cater to. gee sounds like an american enterprise. THEse are pigs . That are consumed one way or another. It seems that they are not raised in mass production and are treated more humane than the big coorperations are doing. they are sustainable on their land to make their farm work. If there is a law prohibiting buy and sale of these russian and the otehr breed these farmers are carrying THe law still needs to be changed.THis looks like an american enterprise from small buisnesses . American ingenuity and independence. thats what is being killed in the end.
This misrepresentation really concerns me. Raising “free-range” hogs is much different than raising pastured hogs.
A free range animal is released to feed off of the commonwealth, and thus takes vital natural resources from the people and environment. There are too many of us to do this anymore. Only some states even allow free ranging because of the costs. It has been illegal.
Pastured hogs are raised in a pasture owned by the farmer, which is perfectly acceptable and causes no extra cost to the rest of us, or harm our shared resources.
Pigs are a leading cause of environmental damage in this country, and some of these breeds really cannot be kept safely- most of these being russian boars or similar hogs. They definitely cannot be “free-ranged” without costing the rest of us a lot of clean up money later.
There are enough laws we should really complain about. The second they start telling people they cannot pasture their hogs on their own lands- then we should start getting our panties all twisted.
In addition, if you really want the bacon, most states will actually pay you a hefty bounty if you wanna go hunting and save them the left ear- The danged hogs are a serious problem, and they spread every month. All of these hogs are the offspring of “free-range” animals released by farmers.
Hogdoggin wrote:
“Well a domestic pig farm isn’t going to get most of these charactistics no matter if they are free range (which means abosolutley nothing except where the pig feeds).”
Free range means vastly more than “where the pig feeds.” To begin with it means that the hogs don’t spend their lives crammed together snout to ass with hundreds or thousands of other hogs constantly bathed in porcine shit, urine and pus in the small cages of factory farms. This in turn means that the hogs do not have be continually pumped full of copious quantities of antibiotics and hormones to keep them from being quickly wiped out by rampant bacterial infections. Nor are they subject to the frequent viral infections and the unhealthy RNA swapping those viral infections impose on animals required to live in egregiously overcrowded conditions.
Further free range conditions, at least as I am personally familiar with free range hog farming here in the South East USA assure that the hogs have considerably more diverse diets because of the various berries, nuts, roots, insects, foliage, grass seeds, etc. that grazing hogs scrounge for themselves. This more diverse diet along with vastly less loading of the hogs with synthetic chemicals means that free range hogs taste much better and are healthier to eat than are their poor factory farm cousins.
Don’t even get me started about the wonderful taste of yard hens vs. factory farmed chickens
Anyone can become a felon these days. The state and our Government hands out felonies like handing out candy to kids on holloween. They do this to have control over mass numbers of people and brain wash the rest of society that felons are not humans. Kind of like how Hitler brain washed Germany and made all Germans believe that Jews arent human and should be controled.
Also, felons can’t legally get or keep firearms. If they try, they can get up to 10 years (by the sentencing act they will almost certainly be sentenced to at least 15 months). They often can’t vote with
Disarm your opposition and disenfranchise them and then also benefit from the prejudice against felons that makes it hard for them to get jobs. And if they want to work for themselves that is illegal in many cases due to licensing laws. And 4 years or however long they get sentenced for their crime they are underfed, kept in cells 23 hours a day often and often raped or at least in fear of such
Take their guns, their money and their voice. Break their spirit and opposition and destroy their ties to the community. Makes it easy to stop them and eventually take their lives. Since the gov’t LOVES killing.