"''"*3&4r#64*/&44
VANKLEEK HILL FARMER HAS TO SHUT DOWN HIS WILD BOAR OPERATION
ANTOINE MESSIER antoine.messier@eap.on.ca
Trillium Meadows Red Deer and Wild Boar Farm in Vankleek Hill, owned by Hans and Marianne Lindenmann, is obli- gated to get rid of all its wild boars by January 1 2024 due to an amendment to the Ontario Invasive Species Act. The Act prohibits the import, possession, transport, propagation, lease, trade, buying, and sale of Eurasian wild boar and their hybrids in the province as of January 1, 2022. However, existing wild boar owners could demand an exemption until January 1 2024. This transition period was made to limit impacts on individuals and busi- ness who may be directly affected by the amendment. Trillium Meadows “It’s a big loss for me.” said Hans Lin- denmann. “I was so mad that I could have loaded it all up, the boars and the deers too, and I could have quit. These two years are going to be sad years because you see your life’s work go down and down.” Hans and Marianne Lindenmann immigra- ted from Switzerland in 1998. They owned and operated Trillium Meadows Red Deer BOE8JME#PBS'BSNGPSZFBST
Hans Lindenmann est obligé de se débarrasser de ses cinq douzaines de sangliers d’ici janvier 2024 pour se conformer à une modification de la Loi sur les espèces envahissantes de l’Ontario interdisant l’importation, la possession, le transport, la propagation, la location, le commerce, l’achat et la vente de sangliers eurasiens et de leurs hybrides dans la province de l’Ontario. —photo Antoine Messier
explain he is obligated to start decreasing the number of boars he owns already. “What am I going to do with 60 dead boars?” said Lindenmann. “You can’t freeze pork meat for a year and I don’t have a market to sell 60 wild boars. It’s why you need two years time to stop doing it.” The province is compensating boar far- mers with $200 per head, but according to Lindenmann, this is not enough. “I have to change my complete brand,» he said, «and that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars and they’re not giving us anything for that.” Lindenmann will also lose a large part of his customer base. He typically sells his specialty meat to individual restaurants and at farmers markets. Trillium Meadows will be replacing the wild hogs with another breed of heritage pigs, such as red wattle hogs, to compensate for the loss of the boars. “It’s not going to be the same, that’s for sure,” said Lindenmann. “It’s not as dark as the boar meat but it’s going to be really good pork meat.” Ontario regulation The amendment to the Ontario Species
Act was passed in October 2021 to prevent wild pigs from establishing themselves in provincial woodlands and other areas. Wild hogs released in the wild were able to survive Canada’s winter climate and have reproduce in the Prairies. “Wild pigs can destroy native ecosystems through trampling, wallowing, and rooting behaviours.” states Ontario’s strategy to address the threat of invasive wild pigs. “They prey on and compete with native wildlife for food and habitat and can impact water quality. In many areas, damages to the agricultural industry have been devastating.” The Ontario government also lists the spread and transmission of disease as one of its reason for amending the act. Lindenmann believes the provincial government could have chosen an alternative method, like fencing laws, to prevent the risk of wild boars becoming an invasive species. He said none of his boars ever escaped because of secure fencing. The fence for boars at Trillium Meadows extends one foot underground, and has an electrified partition on the inside.
The farm was at first a deer farm only, but after a year, the Lindenmanns decided to add wild boars to their operation. Trillum Meadows currently has around 60 boars and 200 deer. The farm averaged 80 boars for the past few years, but Lindenmann
Hans Lindenmann, owner of Trillium Meadows, may be replacing his wild boars with red wattle hogs , a rare breed of heritage pigs to continue his specialty meat production.-photo Antoine Messier
Nous invitons les lecteurs à nous faire parvenir leurs lettres qui ne doivent pas dépasser 300 mots. Nous nous réservons le droit de les modifier ou de refuser de les publier. L’expéditeur doit inclure son nom, prénom, adresse et numéro de téléphone. Readers are invited to send us their letters that must not exceed 300 words. We reserve the right to modify them or to refuse to publish them. The writer must include their names, address and telephone number. Publié le mercredi par • Published on Wednesday by: La Compagnie d’édition André Paquette Inc. Imprimé par • Printed by: Imprimerie Prescott et Russell, Hawkesbury, ON # convention : 0040012398 1100, rue Aberdeen Street, C.P. / P.O. Box 1000, Hawkesbury, ON K6A 3H1 613-632-4155 • 1-800-267-0850 Fax.: 613-632-6383
BERTRAND CASTONGUAY Président • President bertrand@eap.on.ca YVAN JOLY Directeur des ventes Sales director yvan@eap.on.ca
GREGG CHAMBERLAND Rédacteur en chef intérim Acting Editor-in-Chief gregg.chamberland@eap.on.ca GILLES NORMAND Dir. Production et Distribution Mgr. gilles.normand@eap.on.ca MARCO BLAIS Infographie et prépresse / Layout & Prepress infographie@eap.on.ca Publicité • Advertising: yvan@eap.on.ca
Représentation nationale • National representation Sans frais • Toll free : 1-800-361-6890
Toute reproduction du contenu est interdite à moins d’autorisation écrite au préalable. No content may be reproduced without prior written permission. Avis : En cas d’erreur ou d’omission, la responsabilité du journal ne dépasse, en aucun temps, le montant de l’espace de l’erreur en cause. Attention: In case of error or omission, in no way will the publisher be liable for more than the amount charged for space concerned.
Nouvelles • News: nouvelles@eap.on.ca CLASSÉES • CLASSIFIED: nicole.pilon@eap.on.ca
Bien que Trillium Meadows soit obligée de se débarrasser de ses sangliers, la ferme gardera près de 200 cerfs rouges pour la production de viande. -photo Antoine Messier
www.editionap.ca
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online