Banned Pigs: State Targets Cheboygan County Hunting Ranch

By Rick Pluta

A northern Michigan hunting ranch is suspected of harboring wild pigs that are fun to hunt but banned in the state as of April 1st.

Legal action has been filed against the Renegade Ranch Hunting Preserve in Cheboygan County, for refusing entry to state inspectors, and harboring a prohibited species.

This is the first legal action taken by the state Department of Natural Resources to enforce the ban. In a statement, DNR Director Rodney Stokes says the order declaring dozens of exotic swine strains as invasive species was necessary to protect Michigan's woods, fields, and farms from damage by feral hogs. In most cases, he says ranch operators have submitted to inspections.

The owner of the Renegade Hunting Ranch says all his swine are legal, but that, on the advice of his attorney, he told an inspector the DNR needed a search warrant. Ronald McKendrick says he has filed a trespassing complaint against the DNR officer.