The Ohio Senate passed H.B.503, designated the Feral Swine Bill, by unanimous vote following the 89-0 passage in the Ohio House. It is anticipated that the bill will be enacted by signature of the Governor. The Bill will outlaw hunting and importation of feral swine into the state. This legislation is justified given the potential role of feral hogs in disseminating a number of bacterial and viral diseases and representing a potential reservoir host for African swine fever (ASF) virus if it enters the U.S.

The Bill was supported by a range of state animal production associations including the Ohio Pork Council, the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association and the Ohio Poultry Association.

Simply banning importation of feral swine for hunting purposes is inadequate.  Given the probability that ASF might be introduced from the Caribbean to the U.S., the presence of a widely dispersed large population of reservoir hosts, presumes an effective national program of eradication. The USDA has attempted to reduce the population of feral hogs and stem their northward migration. More funding is necessary to suppress numbers of hogs to a level at which they will be inconsequential with respect to crop and pasture damage and spreading disease.

Efforts to date have been ineffective as evidenced by the extension of feral swine from Gulf states northward.  Hunters have complicated the efforts to confine feral swine populations by deliberately transporting animals to previously unpopulated states to establish hunting reserves. 

Ohio legislation will address the aspect of illegal transport, but it will require concerted effort by wildlife agencies to make a meaningful impression on populations of currently destructive and potential spreaders of ASF as in Europe and Africa. The presence of large numbers of feral hogs in numerous states would lead to an endemic situation that would complicate eradication and seriously impact both domestic production and exports of pork.