There was a statement in the…

ERO number

019-3468

Comment ID

54175

Commenting on behalf of

Individual

Comment status

Comment approved More about comment statuses

Comment

There was a statement in the forgoing that said “...release or accidental release should be reported....”
This has to be a case of “must or shall” be reported. There needs to be a legal obligation to do so, not just that you “should”. Please tighten up the wording around this!

Sure there needs to registries and reporting of sightings and monitoring and all that good stuff but the real focus needs to be on “acting” on reports and dealing with the issue of irradiation of any and all wild pigs. Owners of pigs need to know this, the public needs to know this. The message need to be that these animals “will be slaughtered/killed”, not rounded up and cared for by someone else.

To not encourage/promote hunting of these invasive species seems not only counter intuitive but counter productive too. There should be an educational element (maybe with OFAH?) to help hunters know what and how to deal with this situation (not just reporting and only shooting when asked). Where is the best “kill zone” on the animal? If you see more than one animal at a time, are you better to shoot the largest animal first? Shoot the sow first, especially with offspring? What is the best caliber and load to get the job done right? What is the best bait?
There must be way more information to share from your research of “other jurisdictions” that they have learned that is not being shared here. To simply take the position of “no hunting” but lots of reporting, is way too simplistic and short sighted. That might work for the general public, but not for hunters, who are in the best position to help if needed, not to sit around the watch as opportunities pass by. Any conscientious hunter will feel an obligation to eradicate an invasive species, not just document it.