Syracuse.com - Legislation banning Eurasian boar at private hunting reserves awaits Cuomo's signature

[HuntingNY-News]

It's unclear at this point how many are still out there in the wild locally or statewide, officials say.

In this 2010 photo, Joe Watkins stands next to a wild boar that he shot on Saturday near his home in the Cortland County town of Scott. The boar had one-inch tusks and weighed about 475 pounds. Itâs being held up by a backhoe. 

Legislation that would give wildlife biologists and other officials a new weapon in the war against wild Eurasian boars in this state is awaiting Gov. Andrew Cuomo's signature.

The legislation -- A3767, and its Senate companion, S5733 -- gained approval from state Legislators in the final days of this year's legislative session. The legislation, if approved by Cuomo, would take effect Sept. 1, 2015. It would ban the possession, sale, distribution or transportation of wild boar. In addition, it prohibit their importation, breeding and release into the wild.

The legislation is in response to state and federal wildlife officials who say such actions are key to taking these animals, which can grow up to nearly 500 pounds, off the state's landscape. The wild swine, mostly Russian wild boars, have a tendency to escape from private hunting preserves and proliferating quickly.

Areas where that has happened include parts of Onondaga, Cortland, Tioga, Sullivan, Clinton and Delaware counties.

Feral swine, which have been described as "Bad News for New York" by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, are a harmful and destructive invasive species. They're omnivores and their menu is expansive. They'll disturb and prey on ground nesting birds and their eggs, young deer fawns, snakes, lizards, rodents -- even road kill.

In addition to native plants, they dine on just about any agricultural crop. They like to wallow in wet areas, where they destroy the local vegetation, cause erosion and negatively affect water quality.

They have razor sharp tusks and according to the DEC "can be aggressive toward humans, pets and livestock." These wild pigs can also carry and transmit at least 30 different diseases.

In recent years, the job of getting rid of these animals locally has been passed back and forth between federal and state wildlife biologists.

DEC spokeswoman Lori Severino this week said since enclosed (private) shooting facilities do not have to be licensed, the exact number of how many places have wild boar is not known. She added, though, "We know of 12 such facilities in New York that offer boar hunts. Four of them are in DEC Region 7."

Last summer, a three-person team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, upon getting cooperation from property owners in the northern Cortland/south Onondaga counties, used a combination of trapping and hunting to take out 40.

It's unclear at this point how many are still out there in the wild locally or statewide, officials say.

"Since Jan. 1, we've been working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, actively searching for feral swine," said Justin Gansowski, who led last summer's local effort by the USDA.

"If anyone sees any, please report them" Gansowski said. He said to call 1-866-487-3297.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog