Province declares open season on wild boars
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 | 1:13 PM ET
CBC News
Wild boars are being added to Alberta's official list of pests, the province announced this week, which means farmers will be forced to deal with the tusked creatures.
When the new law comes into effect at the end of May, farmers with problem boars must either capture or kill them. If the farmers don't act, the government will step in.
Wild boars were brought to the province in the late 1990s from Europe for breeding and game farming. At least three counties in Alberta have reported problems with boars that have escaped from farms or ranches and begun destroying crops.
They've posed such a problem that in some areas, such as around Lac St. Anne, the animals already have a $50 bounty on their heads.
The county's agricultural field manager, Geoff Thompson, said the government's announcement has sparked interest in the hunt.
"It's mostly the avid hunters that are giving us a call, wondering where the locations of the wild boars are in our municipality, if we're still having problems, if there's a list of farmers that we can give them, names and numbers of where to go to do some hunting," he said, adding the county does not provide such information.
Mike Lepine said he has hunted the boars since the bounty was introduced — but not for the money
"They're a blast to hunt," he said of the animals, which can reach a weight of 200 kilograms. "You have to use all your skills as a hunter not to snap a twig. You make one sound and they're gone."
Some farmers are less certain about the hunt.
Bruce Beattie, who farms near Sundre, said when he sees boars on his land he just calls a neighbour down the road who owns several others.
"They can be trapped apparently, so he will put out traps to see if he can capture them, " Beattie said.
Beattie said he finds this solution preferable because "we certainly don't want people coming in and bullets flying."
