Roast pig not advised for Christina Lake hunters
By Mona Mattei
Walking the trails around Christina Lake you may see a new kind of wildlife which will surprise you – wild boars. Initially being raised at a near-by farm, the pigs are loose and on the rampage. Despite all the issues being raised about the missing piggies, Brenda LaCroix, co-ordinator of the Christina Lake Stewardship Society issued a press release advising people roast pig is not on the menu for hunters. “As most of you have heard via radio and television news broadcasts, there is a concern in the Christina Lake Community regarding stray boars,” said LaCroix. “Issues pertaining to personal safety, property damage, non-native species introduction and the potential impacts to wildlife are being addressed by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation Officer Service.” Sergeant Arnold DeBoon of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said the boars are not considered wildlife and are not regulated under the Wildlife Act. “We have no authority to extend permission to anyone to hunt them. At this point they are still considered to be the property of their owner and for us to allow others to hunt them is akin to allowing people to take property from him without his permission,” explained DeBoon. “If the owner decides he wants nothing further to do with them, they become property of the Crown. The Wildlife Act allows officers to kill an animal that is at large and is likely to harm persons, property, wildlife or wildlife habitat. That would apply to these pigs and only grants permission to officers.” Keeping European razorback boars contained is a challenge for any farmer, explained Michael Dean another local who raised the boars for several years on his farm. “We had page wire fence with an electric fence along the inside low to the ground so they couldn’t root underneath it. What we found is that they would ground it out,” said Dean. “They would hit and get a shock but they would ground it out. It seemed like they were taking turns grounding it out. Once it was down they would just dig a hole under or through the page wire fence. They were virtually impossible to keep penned up.” Dean sold his boars after finding the animals difficult to manage. Sows in particular were even harder to contain, especially when they were ready to give birth. “The sows need to get away from the rest of the herd because the others eat the babies. They will be very aggressive about getting out of a penned area to have their babies,” explained Dean. DeBoon cautions hunters and others that they do not want to see a free-for-all. “It is unlawful to hunt or discharge a firearm within 100 meters of a church, school building, school yard, regional district park, dwelling house, or farm or ranch building that is occupied by persons or domestic animals,” said DeBoon. “The only exception to this is a person is allowed to discharge a firearm on their own property to kill an animal that is a threat to them, their property, or to domestic stock on their property.”
DeBoon asks that if you observe these boars please document the location, date and time and immediately contact the conservation officer service (24hrs) at 1-877-952-7277.
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