BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2268
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2268 (Bigelow)
As Amended April 7, 2014
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 14-0
APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Rendon, Bigelow, Allen, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Dahle, Fong, Frazier, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Beth Gaines, Gatto, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, | |Gomez, Holden, Jones, |
| |Patterson, Rodriguez, | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| |Yamada | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to
conduct a study on the wild pig population in California that
includes recommendations on solutions to mitigate the wild pig
population.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Classifies wild pigs as a game mammal and requires a hunting
license and wild pig tags or a depredation permit to take a
wild pig.
2)Authorizes land owners whose property is being damaged or
destroyed by wild pigs to apply to the DFW for a permit to
kill the animals. Requires DFW to provide an applicant for a
depredation permit to take wild pigs with written information
on the options for wild pig control, which include depredation
permits, allowing periodic access to the land by licensed
hunters, and holding special hunts.
3)Allows any wild pig that is encountered while in the act of
inflicting injury to, molesting, pursuing, worrying or killing
livestock, or damaging or destroying property to be taken
immediately by the owner or governmental official.
4)Requires DFW to prepare a plan for the management of wild
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pigs, including determining the status and trend of wild pig
populations and management units.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, increased costs to DFW in the $50,000 to $400,000
range. This bill does not outline the requirements of the
study. The cost will depend on the level of detail required.
COMMENTS : The author has introduced this bill to address
problems caused by wild pig populations in California that cause
damage to agricultural and conservation lands. The author
asserts that wild pigs are the most destructive invasive species
in the state, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage
each year to natural ecosystems on public, private and
agricultural lands. This bill would require the DFW to conduct
a study on the wild pig population and make recommendations on
solutions to mitigate the problems caused by their
overpopulation. The author also asserts that the current
process for landowners to obtain the applicable permits needed
to take wild pigs is cumbersome and difficult.
In addition to agricultural and natural resource damage
concerns, some urban residential areas have experienced problems
recently with wild pigs, which may be in part attributable to
the current drought. A recent story on ABC News noted that wild
pigs in the San Jose area had come into residential
neighborhoods there damaging property and threatening public
safety. The article indicated that the drought may be a factor
leading the pigs to move from the hills closer to residential
areas.
DFW's Web site indicates that Pigs (Sus scrofa) are native to
Eurasia and northern Africa. In the early 1700's Spanish and
Russian settlers introduced domestic pigs to California as
livestock and many became feral. In the 1920's, a Monterey
County landowner introduced the European wild boar, a wild
subspecies of Sus scrofa into California, which bred with the
domestic pigs. The result of these introductions is a wild
boar/feral domestic pig hybrid. Until the mid-1950's, wild pigs
were unclassified under state law and could be killed with no
restrictions. In 1957, wild pigs were designated a game mammal
by the state legislature. The Fish and Game Commission
established hunting seasons, bag and possession limits, methods
of take and the conditions for using dogs. In 1992, Fish and
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Wildlife Code Sections 4650 through 4657 were added requiring
hunters to possess wild pig license tags while hunting pigs.
Wild pigs currently exist in 56 of the state's 58 counties and
can be found in a variety of habitats ranging from woodland,
chaparral, meadow and grasslands. Wild pigs are omnivorous,
consuming both plant and animal matter. In general, wild pigs
feed on grasses and herbs in the spring, tree nuts and fruits in
the summer and fall, and roots, tubers and invertebrates
throughout the year.
The DFW's Web site also includes the following observation: "The
relationship between California residents and wild pigs could be
described as 'love/hate.' That is, hunters love them while
everyone else seems to hate them. Classified as a game mammal in
California, wild pigs provide year-round hunting opportunity."
The DFW Web site also provides the following advice on wild pig:
"Even if you don't see wild pigs, evidence of their presence is
obvious-it could be as benign as a few pig tracks, or an entire
hillside that looks like it's been worked over with a
rototiller. Wild pigs use their snouts to root up the ground in
search of food, including roots, fungus, and other items. As
omnivores, they also consume garden landscape plants and
agricultural crops."
Existing laws in California provide landowners with a number of
options for addressing wild pig-related property damage.
Options authorized by DFW that landowners can take include: 1)
allowing hunters on their property to take wild pigs; 2)
purchasing a hunting license and wild pig tags to hunt the pigs
themselves on their own property; 3) allowing DFW to conduct a
hunt on their property; 4) requesting a depredation permit from
DFW that will allow them to hunt for pigs on their property any
time during the day or night without a hunting license; and, 5)
landowners may immediately kill pigs that are encountered on
their property while conducting routine activities. A hunting
license is required but no additional tags are needed if the
person taking the pig is the landowner, an agent of the
landowner or an employee of the landowner. DFW must be notified
within 24 hours of the killing of the pig.
Supporters of this bill note that wild pigs cause significant
damage to California's farms, ranches, and native habitats and
that action is needed to reduce their population. They cite
surveys estimating that wild pigs cause over $1 million in
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damages each year to agricultural crops, fencing, roads and
trails. They also assert that the 2006 outbreak of E. coli in
spinach was attributed to wild pigs.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and a joint report
by the California Department of Health Services and the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration actually concluded the probable
cause of the E. coli outbreak was Paicines Ranch, an Angus
cattle ranch that had leased land to spinach grower Mission
Organics. The reports found 26 samples of E. coli
indistinguishable from the outbreak strain in water and cattle
manure on the San Benito County ranch, some within a mile from
the tainted spinach fields. Although officials could not
definitively say how the spinach became contaminated, both
reports named the presence of wild pigs on the ranch and the
proximity of surface waterways to irrigation wells as "potential
environmental risk factors." The reports also noted that flaws
in the spinach producer's transportation and processing systems
could have further spread contamination. Paicines Ranch is not
under investigation for its alleged role in the outbreak.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0003668