WASHINGTON, July 16 (RIA Novosti) – A Michigan farmer is going hog wild and suing the state over a 2011 order classifying Russian boar as an invasive species and banning them from the state, the Associated Press has reported.
Hog farmer Mark Baker is challenging a Michigan Department of Natural Resources order declaring that Russian swine are escaping into the wild, ravaging the local ecosystem, and destroying crops.
National Public Radio (NPR) reported in 2012 that there may be as many as 3,000 wild pigs rampaging across Michigan, while swine wreak havoc costing up to $1.8 billion in damages nationally each year.
Baker, who raises Russian boar hybrids for culinary use, told NPR that his hogs are safely confined in barns.
Five farms are party to the suit, claiming that the ban is vague and slanted in favor of major agribusiness interests, the AP reported.
