HLS 22RS-532 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 18
BY REPRESENTATIVE MCFARLAND
WILDLIFE & FISHERIES: Creates the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force in the
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To create the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force in the Department of Wildlife
3 and Fisheries.
4 WHEREAS, feral hogs (Sus scrofa), including European wild hogs and hybrids,
5commonly weigh two hundred pounds but can easily weigh up to four hundred pounds, are
6quickly becoming the most serious problem facing land managers and hunters in Louisiana;
7and
8 WHEREAS, feral hogs are omnivorous but vegetation constitutes the largest portion
9of their diet as they use their very tough nose that allows them to "root" for invertebrates,
10tubers, or any other underground food, thereby disrupting crops, golf courses, levees,
11hayfields, tree farms, and even lawns; and
12 WHEREAS, feral hogs are extremely prolific with generally two litters per year of
13up to ten piglets per litter and feral hogs have virtually no natural predators so piglet survival
14is nearly one hundred percent which allows the population to increase exponentially; and
15 WHEREAS, feral hogs are plagued by a multitude of diseases that can affect humans,
16commercial swine operations, or wildlife, including swine brucellosis, pseudorabies, and
17classical swine fever; and
18 WHEREAS, with their high proliferation and lack of natural predators, management
19of feral hogs is of paramount importance to the state as part of a coordinated effort of
20assessment, planning, exclusion, scouting, control, and monitoring to document and reduce
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HCR NO. 18
1natural resource damage caused by feral hogs and focus interagency management efforts to
2reduce impacts and health concerns for other animals and humans.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
4create the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force in the Department of Wildlife and
5Fisheries as follows:
6 A. There is hereby established the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force to
7study and monitor the feral hog issues in the state of Louisiana and to make
8recommendations for the management of feral hogs.
9 B. The task force shall be composed as follows:
10 (1) One member appointed from the staff of the Department of Wildlife and
11Fisheries by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to serve in an advisory
12role as a nonvoting member.
13 (2) One member appointed from the staff of the Department of Agriculture and
14Forestry by the commissioner of agriculture to serve in an advisory role as a nonvoting
15member.
16 (3) One member appointed by the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture
17and Forestry from three nominations submitted by the Soil and Water Conservation
18Commission.
19 (4) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and
20Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Landowners Association.
21 (5) One member appointed by the commissioner of agriculture from three nominees
22submitted by the Louisiana Forestry Association.
23 (6) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and
24Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Chapter of the National Deer
25Association and Louisiana Wildlife Federation.
26 (7) One member appointed from the faculty of the LSU College of Agriculture
27appointed by the dean of the LSU College of Agriculture.
28 (8) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and
29Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Association of Professional
30Biologists - Louisiana Chapter of The Wildlife Society.
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HCR NO. 18
1 (9) One member appointed by the commissioner of agriculture from three nominees
2submitted by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
3 (10) One member appointed by the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and
4Fisheries from three nominees submitted by the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana.
5 (11) One member appointed by the state conservationist for United States
6Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service to serve in an advisory
7role as a nonvoting member.
8 (12) One member appointed by the State Conservationist for United States
9Department of Agriculture, representing United States Department of Agriculture Animal
10Health and Plant Health Inspection Service/Wildlife Services Louisiana to serve in an
11advisory role as a nonvoting member.
12 C. The members appointed under the provisions of Paragraphs (B)(1), (2), (11) and
13(12) of this Section shall be considered members of the task force for determination of the
14number of members necessary for a quorum and for establishing the presence of a quorum.
15 D. Six members of the task force shall constitute a quorum sufficient to conduct
16meetings and business of the task force. The task force shall elect a chairman from its
17membership and may seek and receive assistance from universities within the state in the
18development of methods to manage feral hogs in the state of Louisiana. The members of the
19task force shall serve without compensation; however, the task force may receive the same
20reimbursement of travel expenses for attending task force meetings as is allowed for other
21state employees' travel.
22 E. The task force is hereby charged with the following responsibilities:
23 (1) To provide an annual estimate of the population of feral hogs in Louisiana.
24 (2) To analyze the financial impact of feral hogs.
25 (3) To identify human health impacts from an increasing population of feral hogs
26in Louisiana, include reporting of all diseases carried by feral hogs that can be transferred
27to humans, wildlife, domesticated animals.
28 (4) To identify and coordinate public outreach opportunities to educate about feral
29hog control methods and the need for control to protect human health, native wildlife and
30their habitat, farm land, levees and water quality.
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HCR NO. 18
1 (5) To identify available funding sources that can be used to assist Louisiana in
2reduction and control methods.
3 (6) To coordinate efforts to control and reduce the population of feral hogs,
4including private, local, state and federal efforts.
5 (7) To assess current control methods and effectiveness in population control.
6 (8) To identify alternative methods and potential for effectiveness in feral hog
7population control.
8 (9) To assist in developing and evaluating new methods of control.
9 (10) To recommend programs needed and identify funding mechanisms.
10 (11) To coordinate enforcement and tracking of transport and movement of feral
11hogs.
12 (12) To recommend regulations necessary to achieve goals of population control and
13reduction.
14 F. The Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force shall make recommendations
15to the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the Senate Committee
16on Natural Resources from time to time as it sees fit.
17 G. The Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force shall submit a report to the
18House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the Senate Committee on
19Natural Resources no later than February 1, 2027 and shall cease to exist on March 1, 2027,
20and thereafter.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
22secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the commissioner of agriculture.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 18 Original 2022 Regular Session McFarland
Creates the Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force composed as follows:
(1)One member appointed from the staff of the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries by the
secretary of the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries to serve in an advisory role as a
nonvoting member.
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HCR NO. 18
(2)One member appointed from the staff of the Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry by the
commissioner of agriculture to serve in an advisory role as a nonvoting member.
(3)One member appointed by the commissioner of the Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry
from three nominations submitted by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
(4)One member appointed by the secretary of the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries from
three nominees submitted by the La. Landowners Association.
(5)One member appointed by the commissioner of agriculture from three nominees
submitted by the La. Forestry Association.
(6)One member appointed by the secretary of the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries from
three nominees submitted by the La. Chapter of the National Deer Association and
La. Wildlife Federation.
(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 Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries from
three nominees submitted by the La. Association of Professional Biologists - La.
Chapter of The Wildlife Society.
(9)One member appointed by the commissioner of agriculture from three nominees
submitted by the La. Farm Bureau Federation.
(10)One member appointed by the secretary of the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries from
three nominees submitted by the Association of Levee Boards of La.
(11)One member appointed by the state conservationist for U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
Natural Resource Conservation Service to serve in an advisory role as a nonvoting
member.
(12)One member appointed by the state conservationist for U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
representing USDA Animal Health and Plan Inspection Service/Wildlife Services
La. to serve in an advisory role as a nonvoting member.
Provides that the members of the task force serve without compensation; however,
authorizes them to receive the same reimbursement of travel expenses for attending the
meetings as is allowed for other state employees' travel.
Provides for the responsibilities of the task force.
Requires the task force to submit a report by Feb. 1, 2027 and sunsets the task force on
March 1, 2027.
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