
Mark Baker poses with his exotic swine on his farm near McBain, Michigan.
It's no wonder, then, that the state of Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), specifically, takes issue with feral swine running rampant throughout the state. (I think there would be general consensus on that point: let's not have horribly destructive animals free to roam the state and victimize helpless people. Oh wait...back to feral pigs...)
There are effectively no feral swine in Michigan. Oddly though, the DNR issued a declaratory ruling effective back in April of 2012 that all feral pigs had to be destroyed. In their description of feral pigs, they included characteristics often found in domesticated pigs, like having a curly tail or a straight tail or having hair or not having hair...you get the idea. For a full list, please visit here or here. The DNR's description of feral swine fits every pig in the US; probably the world. Nowhere in this list of characteristics was there actually a requirement that the pigs be feral. Feral, as in, living outside of fences.
So why such a broad definition? The DNR admitted that the language for the declaratory ruling came from the pork industry and that they created a broad definition that effectively targeted the heritage breeds of pig being raised on family farms.
Comment: Who said that slavery ended? A large number of the world's population today is plagued by great poverty and psychopathic individuals will take advantage, use and abuse them as long as it satisfies their greed; from psychopathic governments to your garden-variety psychopath, the suffering caused is worldwide. Here are just a few recent examples:
Modern slavery, bread and circuses: Official records show 185 Nepalese workers died last year alone on stadium construction sites for Qatar for 2022 Soccer World Cup
Modern slavery: Gullah-Geechee people of Sapelo Island, Georgia being forced off by 600% property tax hike
How poverty wages for tea pickers fuel India's trade in child slavery
The Chocolate Wars: A bitter tale of greed and child slavery
Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery Affecting 30 Million Women and Children