Farmers who care about the welfare of animals, raising them on pasture instead of in confined feed lots, are being forced to eradicate their pigs and hogs because they match the description of feral swine - wild pigs and hogs that cause agricultural devastation. These farmers have invested large amounts of money and effort into their farms to produce quality, meaningful products - like pastured heritage pork - and the DNR is taking away their right to operate their business freely, at a high economic cost to the farmer. This may put some farmers out of business, and will certainly reduce access to quality pork in the State of Michigan that is free of antibiotics and other toxins that are regularly found in pork from confined feed lot operations. We can only make change to our economy and health in this state and country by taking the broken food system into our own hands, allowing small farmers and small businesses to produce clean, minimally processed food grown with organic principles. This anti-small farmer legislation is exactly counterproductive to this desperate need.

Please join us in signing this petition to let the State of Michigan DNR know that we want responsible farmers who care for their animals and their customers (us) to be exempt from the mandate to slaughter all pigs/hogs classified as "sus scrofa" by April 1, 2012.