Ranching Wild Pigs on Private Property

April 27, 2017

Question: Are there circumstances under which a California rancher or even a private resident can keep live wild pigs on their property? I haven’t found any regulations that specifically address this. (Mike A.)

Answer: No, it is not lawful for any California resident to possess wild pigs (Sus scrofa) (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 671(c)(2)(Q)). However, there is an exception for Sus scrofa domestica, also known as the domesticated pig one commonly sees on a farm (CCR Title 14, section 671(c)(2)(Q)(1)).

Isn't this kind of ironic , if your raise pigs in general on a farm they aren't considered wild pigs anymore..smh

Yeah, had the question been "Are there circumstances under which a California rancher or even a private resident can keep live feral pigs on their property?"

Shades of grey.

Myself and a high school friend bought 6 piglets that had been taken from the wild. 10 bucks each. A guy I worked with had a roommate that was hunting and found them. They were very small like 5-7 pounds. Paul lives in cotati and we fenced an area and raised them for a year. Mike Codoroli came and shot them, cleaned, shaved and took them to Angelos Meats in Petaluma. When we went to Angelos to discuss processing he ripped our asses. Saying we were stupid to raise wild pigs. He said look at these little scrawny things. They were around 120 lbs. He said get a nice Yorkshire you dumb asses. Lol.

They were around 120 lbs. He said get a nice Yorkshire you dumb asses. Lol.

I raised hogs for 4H and FFA as a kid and had Yorkshires as well as other breeds. They weighed somewheres around the 200-220 mark. But I like my wild hogs in the 120 range. I only ever shoot the ones about the size of a big dog. They are much better eating.

i raise and hunt pigs and 220 is as big as i want my home grown pigs but would take a wild hog of the same size maybe bigger if a knew it was feeding on acorns they really flavor the meat