June 6th, 2021 Comments on…

June 6th, 2021

Comments on ERO-019-3465 Regulating 13 invasive species and watercraft as a carrier of invasive species under Ontario’s Invasive Species Act, 2015.

To whom it may concern,

We would like to voice our concern regarding the proposal concerning ERO-019-3465 Regulating 13 invasive species and watercraft as a carrier of invasive species under Ontario’s Invasive Species Act, 2015 as it pertains to wild boars.

We agree with the following summary points of the proposal:

1. prohibit the release of any pig into the natural environment
2. prohibit bringing a live pig into a provincial park or conservation reserve
3. prohibit hunting wild pigs with exceptions for activities to protect from damage caused by wild pigs

We DISAGREE with:

4. over a two-year period, phase-out the import, possession, transport, propagation, buying, selling, leasing, or trading of live Eurasian wild boar and their hybrids.

Responsible wild boar farming must have its place in Ontario as it supports many family businesses, restaurants, feed stores, hardware stores and gives the people of Ontario access to locally raised, healthy wild boar meat.

We have been farming wild boars for 22 years and respect the regulations that are already in place. Tracing of animals is assured via ear tag program administered by PigTrace. Rules for escaped wild boar are regulated by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, which “prohibits the unauthorized release of imported wildlife including wild boar.

If you keep wild boar, you:
- must make sure the animals are kept securely on your property
- must immediately report any escapes to the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Forestry - must capture or kill the escapees as soon as possible - may be legally responsible for the cost of recovering escaped or released animals”

It is also in our own interest to assure our animals are contained as they are very valuable livestock and any loss would represent a significant loss in revenue.

Our position is that through proper regulations (which are already in place) and working partnerships between different stakeholders, an environmentally safe and flourishing wild boar industry can be maintained in Ontario, providing much needed economic stability and warrant the livelihoods of wild boar producers across the province.

We also ask the province not to classify the wild boar as an invasive species if it is farmed.