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County of Wetaskiwin passes Wild Boar Bylaw

County Council passed Bylaw 2021/08 to prevent the establishment of wild boar within the County.
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Wild boar and feral pigs can do major damage to crops and property. War against wild boar being waged in Alta. -File Photo/ The Western Producer

On March 11, 2021, County of Wetaskiwin Council gave Second and Third Reading to Bylaw 2021/08 to prevent the establishment of wild boar within the County of Wetaskiwin.

First reading of the Wild Boar Bylaw was given on Jan. 26, 2021 at which time Council requested a public engagement be done on the issue of wild boar to gather more public opinion.

For the public engagement, County Administration developed a survey regarding wild boar in the County and posted it online to the County of Wetaskiwin website and printed it in the Pipestone Flyer.

As a result of the public engagement, 46 surveys were completed with 93 per cent stating that they were residents of the County of Wetaskiwin and 54 per cent stating that they are agricultural producers.

Over 80 per cent of those who completed the survey stated their opposition to allowing wild boar to be farmed within County boundaries and over 90 per cent stated that the County should approve a bylaw that prohibits the establishment of wild boar.

83 per cent of participants of the survey also stated that the County should not allow wild boar hunt farms within the County. In the survey the County asked what County residents would like to see the as the fine for violating the bylaw subject to its approval and the most common response was a potential fine amount of $10,000.

The County’s Agricultural Service Board was also in support of the creation of the Wild Boar Bylaw.

At least 10 other rural municipalities in Alberta have Bylaws that prohibit wild boar. Currently the Government of Alberta does not have any legislation prohibiting wild boar in Alberta, however, wild boar at-large are considered agricultural pests under the Agricultural Pests Act.



shaela.dansereau@pipestoneflyer.ca

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