Two great stories came out this week:
Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister did a great piece for NPR. We were pretty proud of their listenership for picking up on the due process constitutional issue even though Dan and Elizabeth didn’t talk about it especially. Note the Rodney Stokes quote where he tells listeners that if they aren’t sure from reading the law if they are in compliance or not, they can ask the DNR to inspect their animals–or just send in a photo–and the officers will be happy to help. If an animal is deemed illegal they’ll give you a week or so to depopulate it–or face heavy fines and felony charges. The story is well balanced and truly fair to both sides, well worth 12 minutes of your time.
The other article was by Tracy Sutton Schorn in Acres USA magazine, September issue. It is not available online yet, but the magazine is available where such are sold. Tracy talked to Micheal Bodenchuck, Texas Wildlife Services state director and consultant to the MDNR. Mr. Bodenchuck feels that there is no such thing as a pig proof fence that will contain pigs (tell that to Ron McKendrick who never lost a pig in 10 years until someone helped his pigs escape). He believes the ONLY way to raise hogs is on concrete in barns with biosecurity. Pasturing pigs is akin to raising tigers on a farm. Tracy did a great job of presenting the problem in its complexities and the issues surrounding the solutions. If you can get hold of the magazine, it’s a good read.