EXECUTIVE ORDER
07-26

WHEREAS, feral hogs are any swine or hog, including Russian and European wild boar, not conspicuously marked with an ear tag or other identifying mark and roaming freely on public or private land without the landowner's permission; and

WHEREAS, feral hogs pose a serious threat to Missouri's (1) agricultural interests through the potential transmission of disease to livestock and destruction of crops, and (2) forest, fish, and wildlife resources through competition with native wildlife for food and cover, destruction of habitat, and destruction of sensitive natural areas; and

WHEREAS, forest, fish, and wildlife resources annually generate over $7 billion of economic benefits to Missouri; and

WHEREAS, feral hogs are currently reported to cause an estimated $800 million per year in damages nationwide;

WHEREAS, feral hogs are reported to be established in 20 Missouri counties from a variety of sources such as escaped animals from traditional hog operations, dumped pets, and illegal releases by individuals desiring to establish huntable populations; and

WHEREAS, feral hogs inhabit both private and public lands; and

WHEREAS, the successful control of feral hogs will require broad stakeholder input and cooperation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MATT BLUNT, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution and Laws of the State of Missouri, do hereby create by Executive Order a Director/Administrator level multi-agency task force to address the concerns associated with feral hogs.

The ten-member task force shall be co-chaired by the directors of the Departments of Agriculture and Conservation. The Departments of Natural Resources and Health shall be represented in the task force membership. Other members should be selected to ensure a broad stakeholder group representing federal interests, agricultural industries—including representatives from both livestock and crop production,--sportsmen organizations, and the forest industry. (Examples: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) -Wildlife Services, United States Army Corps of Engineers and USDA Forest Service. Private organizations for consideration as members shall include the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Missouri Pork Association, Missouri Cattlemen's Association, MFA Inc., and Missouri Farm Bureau.)

The task force shall complete the following:

1. Develop a public educational message regarding the negative impacts associated with feral hogs;
2. Review existing state laws/regulations regarding the illegal release of hogs and propose needed changes;
3. Develop and implement voluntary disease testing standards for feral hogs killed in Missouri;
4. Establish a contingency plan to be followed if disease(s) posing significant threats to human, livestock, and/or wildlife populations are documented in Missouri;
5. Implement aggressive proactive efforts to remove all feral hog populations from public lands and encourage private landowners to concurrently remove feral hogs from their property; and
6. Expand regulatory and enforcement efforts aimed at eliminating sources (e.g., escaped animals from traditional hog operations, dumped pets, and illegal releases by individuals desiring to establish populations) of feral hogs.

The task force shall complete a report outlining steps to be taken to implement/address the above items, the role of each state agency, anticipated costs of implementation, and associated benefits to the citizens and natural resources of Missouri. Directors of the Departments of Agriculture and Conservation shall provide the report to me within 120 days of the first task force meeting.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Missouri, in the City of Jefferson, on this 30th day of August, 2007.

ATTEST:

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