Oct. 20–ALBANY — Already a major problem for farmers in the South, wild boars are now a target of the New York State government.
The wild boar population has been increasing in New York in recent years and state officials fear an explosion of the invasive species could be in the works.
But don’t blame the migration of wild boars from Texas, Alabama or Florida. Instead, the boars living in the wild here are largely escapees — and offspring — from the dozen or more upstate hunting preserves upstate that offer guaranteed kills in their fenced-in lands, according to federal and state agencies.
That’s about to end, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected this week to sign a law that would, at first, ban breeding and importation and, by 2015, outright prohibit possession of the wild boar.
For Pete Smith, that’s a problem. He and his wife run Creekside Outdoors in Forestville in Chautauqua County. On any given day, the 500-acre site with a high fence includes up to 100 Eurasian boars for the 200 boar hunts he hosts each year. The preserve — on the grounds of a former dairy farm — also offers fallow deer, ram and elk hunts.
Open for boar hunting year-round, hunters can shoot a boar weighing up to 300 pounds for $625 and have its meat processed on-site for an extra charge.
With fewer than 20 such preserves in New York — no agency has a precise number — Smith said his small industry’s weak lobbying presence meant he did not stand much of a chance when the Legislature and Cuomo set their minds this past legislative session to ban Eurasian boar possession or distribution in New York.
Boar hunting makes up 60 percent of Smith’s family-run business, which he started 17 years ago.
“It’s probably going to close us down. We’re not going to be able to survive this,” Smith said.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation pushed the legislation.
Between New York’s new gun control law and the looming new boar restrictions, Smith said it has been a tough year for hunters. He believes the real aim of the legislation is to shut down the hunting preserves that offer what critics call “canned hunts.” He dismisses state officials’ claims that preserves are the problem, saying no boar has ever escaped his property.
Smith called the legislation an attack on small business that will drive hunters — his customers come from around the Northeast — to nearby states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.
“We’re really going to take the hit,” Smith said.