Michigan's Department of Natural Resources continues it anti-wild hog crusade. Our story so far:

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is trying to get rid of feral pigs by going after people who keep boars that might be able to survive in the wild. An order has been issued which mandates the killing of all such swine by April 1 , at which point the DNR "hope[s] to be invited onto farms voluntarily. We will be doing inspections" to make sure the forbidden breeds—classified as invasive species—are no longer around.

Of course, Big Government and Big Pig are in cahoots, reports Senior Editor Damon Root:

Unsurprisingly, the Michigan Pork Producers Association—an organization whose members do not grow heritage pigs—supports the Department, which has allegedly assured the Association that its members' operations will be exempt. It must be nice for large-scale producers who command enough political clout to simply outlaw their competition. Meanwhile, Mark Baker and other smaller-scale farmers must wait to see where the bureaucratic winds will blow.

Now those "inspections" for smaller-scale producers have come to pass. One farmer wrote in to the blog of Baker's Green Acres, which has become a respoitory for horror stories about the Michigan pig purge:

Subject: search warrant

I was served a search warrant yesterday at 7: 45am.

After 8 guys 3 four wheelers, and 4 hours, DNR decided I was correct. I have killed all my hogs. They gave me papers that say I do not have any hogs on my property. All they saw were dead hogs laying around from my mass slaughtering. It took 12 guys 4 times in there to kill all of them, sows with young, Pregnant sows, dozens of piglets, and old mature boars. It has been a sad few weeks.

Does anyone know what it feels like to open fire on 20 baby piglets in one group which weigh between 5lbs and 15 lbs. They are so adorable and cute.

They commented to everyone that they never saw a fence built so tough and no way would a hog get out of this area. I trenched 2? then installed chain link fencing, then a 10? high tightlock fence on top of that. ( 200 acre area ) They never saw a fence like that.

Dave Tuxbury

deer tracks ranch