Hunters might be allowed to take twice as many feral pigs per day, seven days a week, in certain Puna forest reserves under new regulations being considered by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
The BLNR will discuss on Friday a series of proposed new hunting rules for the Nanawale, Malama Ki and Keauohana forest reserves that would increase the daily bag limits for feral pigs from two to four pigs per hunter, and allow hunting every day instead of the current weekends-and-holidays-only schedule.
According to the proposal, the changes are in response to increasing complaints from Puna residents about disruptions caused by pigs.
“We get complaints from people about pigs digging up their yards,” said Eileen O’Hara, president of the Hawaiian Shores Community Association, which abuts the Nanawale Forest Reserve. “I know someone whose dog was attacked by a pig. … People are very cautious now when they’re out walking. Some people, when they go out walking their dogs, bring cattle prods with them.”
O’Hara said the entire island is suffering an explosion of wild pigs, but added that it’s currently difficult for hunters to even access the nearby Nanawale Forest Reserve on hunting days.
She also said the community association has received mixed answers from law enforcement about whether residents are legally allowed to trap and dispatch feral pigs on their own property.
Abraham Antonio, chair of the Hawaii County Game Management Advisory Commission, said the proposed rule change was made in collaboration between the county and state game management commissions following discussions with the Hawaiian Shores Community Association.
The changes would be temporary at first, lasting two years, with the possibility of being reverted or extended depending on its impacts.
Antonio said the looser restrictions also will benefit hunters who have been hamstrung by the limited availability.
“The State Game Management Advisory Commission, they wanted to take away the bag limits entirely, but we wanted to keep them, so we went to four pigs a day,” Antonio said. “It’s not like we have a shortage of pigs right now. And, for an individual hunter, or even a pair of hunters, it’s not easy for them to carry out that many pigs.”
O’Hara said the changes also will help manage the spread of brucellosis, an infectious disease spread by bacteria within infected animals that can cause moderate to fatal illness in humans.
Because of the long time necessary to test for brucellosis — blood tests must be sent to labs on the mainland — O’Hara said it’s generally assumed that all pigs on the island carry the disease.
The bacteria that causes brucellosis is killed by thoroughly cooking the host pig, O’Hara said.
She added that, by adopting more thorough pig management practices, the county could develop a thriving local pork industry — “tourists would love to take home some authentic Hawaiian smoked pig,” she said.
O’Hara said Pahoa nonprofit Malama O Puna is seeking grants from the county Department of Research and Development for further pig management projects, such as a Pig Brig, which is a live trap that can catch and hold an entire sounder of pigs.
The BLNR will discuss the proposed new rules at a hearing on Friday.
The hearing can be viewed online at youtube.com/c/boardoflandandnaturalresourcesdlnr.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.