ENROLLED
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 9
BY REPRESENTATIVES THIBAUT, ANDERS, BISHOP, BROADWATER, CHAD
BROWN, TERRY BROWN, CARMODY, ROBBY CARTER, CONNICK, COX,
GAINES, GAROFALO, GISCLAIR, GUINN, LANCE HARRIS, HAVARD,
HAZEL, HENSGENS, HILL, HORTON, HOWARD, HUNTER, ROBERT
JOHNSON, MCFARLAND, MIGUEZ, JIM MORRIS, AND WHITE AND
SENATOR PEACOCK
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To create the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force in the Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries.
WHEREAS, feral hogs (Sus scrofa), including European wild hogs and hybrids,
commonly weigh two hundred pounds but can easily weigh up to four hundred pounds, are
quickly becoming the most serious problem facing land managers and hunters in Louisiana;
and
WHEREAS, feral hogs are omnivorous but vegetation constitutes the largest portion
of their diet as they use their very tough nose that allows them to "root" for invertebrates,
tubers, or any other underground food, thereby disrupting crops, golf courses, levees,
hayfields, tree farms, and even lawns; and
WHEREAS, feral hogs are extremely prolific with generally two litters per year of
up to ten piglets per litter; while the feral hogs have virtually no natural predators, so piglet
survival is nearly one hundred percent which allows the population to increase
geometrically; and
WHEREAS, feral hogs are plagued by a multitude of diseases that can affect humans,
commercial swine operations, or wildlife, including swine brucellosis, pseudorabies, and
classical swine fever; and
WHEREAS, with their high proliferation and lack of natural predators, management
of feral hogs is of paramount importance to the state and the hunters and farmers of the state.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
create the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force in the Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries as follows:
A. There is hereby established the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task
Force to study and monitor the feral hog issues in the state of Louisiana and to make
recommendations for the management of the feral hogs.
B. The task force shall be composed as follows:
(1) One member appointed from the staff of the Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
(2) One member appointed from the staff of the Department of Agriculture
and Forestry by the commissioner of agriculture.
(3) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Hog Hunters
Association.
(4) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Landowners
Association.
(5) One member appointed by the commissioner of agriculture from three
nominees submitted by the Louisiana Forestry Association.
(6) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Quality Deer
Management Association.
(7) One member appointed from the faculty of the LSU College of
Agriculture appointed by the dean of the LSU College of Agriculture.
(8) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Association of
Professional Biologists – Louisiana Chapter of The Wildlife Society.
(9) One member appointed by the commissioner of agriculture from three
nominees submitted by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
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(10) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Association of Levee Boards of
Louisiana.
(11) One member appointed by the secretary of the Dept. of Wildlife and
Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Wildlife Research Institute.
C. The members appointed under the provisions of Paragraphs (B)(1), (2),
and (10) of this Section shall be nonvoting members. However, they shall be
considered members of the task force for determination of the number of members
necessary for a quorum and for establishing the presence of a quorum.
D. Six members of the task force shall constitute a quorum sufficient to
conduct meetings and business of the task force. The task force shall elect a
chairman from its membership and may seek and receive assistance from universities
within the state in the development of methods to manage feral hogs in the state of
Louisiana. The members of the task force shall serve without compensation;
however, the task force may receive the same reimbursement of travel expenses for
attending task force meetings as is allowed for other state employees' travel.
E. The task force is hereby charged with the responsibility to make
recommendations with respect to issues pertaining to feral hog management efforts,
including public awareness programs, to the various state agencies charged with the
responsibility for managing the feral hogs in this state, including the Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the
legislature. The task force shall consider hunter-based solutions and shall gather
input from various stakeholder groups.
F. The Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force shall submit an annual
report to the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the
Senate Committee on Natural Resources no later than February 1
st
of each year and
shall cease to exist on January 1, 2020, and thereafter.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, from
the monies appropriated to the department by the legislature, is hereby directed to fund
activities related to feral hog management, education, research, and control during Fiscal
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Year 2016-2017 in an amount not less than Three Hundred Sixty Thousand Dollars in excess
of the amount expended for such purpose during Fiscal Year 2015-2016.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the commissioner of agriculture.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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