Wild boars are officially banned from the County of Grande Prairie, county council decided Monday.
A public hearing was held Monday on tabled amendments to the county’s Land Use Bylaw prohibiting the creatures.
“The boars can be quite damaging to local ecology and agricultural operations, and there’s been some significant impacts from wild boars in other parts of Canada,” said Nick Lapp, county planning director.
He particularly cited the disruptions wild boars have caused in his native Saskatchewan and the ecological impact the boars have rooting up land to make their dens.
The boars also compete with livestock for food, he said.
County Coun. Corey Beck expressed support for a ban during the hearing, saying it would save the county from having to create policies to have staff inspecting fencing.
“When (boars) do get out, … they become very destructive - they destroy property, they destroy crops and they’re nocturnal, so they’re very difficult to get rid of,” Beck said.
There are currently no wild boar operations in the county and administration identifies the county as having a “boar-free pest status,” Lapp said.
The impetus for the amendments came in April, when a landowner applied to establish a wild boar operation in the county, according to administration.
County administration advised against supporting the operation, citing saved expenses in inspecting new wild boar operations as well as hunting down potential escaped boars.
The county might have to start up a new program with trappers to eradicate escapees, an expense staff hoped to avoid, Lapp said.
“They’re very hardy animals, and they can establish themselves very readily in our climate,” he said.
No county residents spoke on the proposed ban during Monday’s public hearing.
Additionally, no landowners submitted written concerns and the county’s agricultural department expressed support for the amendments, according to administration.
Sexsmith council also voted to express no concerns about the ban during its regular meeting last week.
“I’m glad we don’t allow (boars) because if they get out, they spread like rabbits,” said town Coun. Bruce Black.
Town Coun. Clint. Froehlick’s motion to send a statement of no concerns to the county was carried unopposed.
The new Land Use Bylaw amendments tweak the definition of “agricultural operations” to specifically exclude keeping wild boars as livestock.
The approved amendments exclude wild boars from the definition of “livestock” and also note wild boars aren’t considered livestock under the definition of “confined feeding operation.”
Lapp said the amendments won’t affect farmers who keep pigs as livestock.
Councillors Daryl Beeston, Bob Marshall and Ross Sutherland’s motions for readings and passage of the Land Use Bylaw amendments were carried unanimously.
Wild boars aren’t native to Alberta and their presence in the province only dates back to the 1980s, when farmers began keeping them as livestock, according to the Alberta government.
Since their arrival, some boars escaped and established feral and wild populations, according to Alberta Agriculture.
When “at large,” the animals are classified as invasive pests under Alberta’s Pest and Nuisance Control Regulation.
The government has had enhanced fencing requirements for wild boar operations in place since 2014.
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