L’ANSE – A recent ruling to halt Department of Natural Resources invasive species enforcement against people who bought so-called Russian boar pigs from Roger and Brenda Turunen might not keep the law off their backs for long. A circuit court trial that could be the final word in the long-running case could take place as soon as October, said Turunen attorney Joseph O’Leary.

DNR public information officer Ed Golden said the DNR is confident heading into the showdown, with the Court of Appeals having ruled in its favor that the invasive species order they’re enforcing is constitutional.

“We have nothing to do now but try these trial cases that are sent back (to circuit court),” he said.

O’Leary felt good about the case as well, however, pointing to the DNR’s rescinding of a declaratory ruling that defined the Russian boar phenotypically – by features, rather than genetic background – and said the DNR hasn’t yet come up with a better means of showing the pigs are any different from standard domestic swine.

“Now what we have is a bunch of nicknames. Eurasian wild boar, Russian boar, five or six nicknames, that’s what’s illegal,” he said. “They seem to be saying, everybody knows what an illegal pig is. Ever see a Mangalitsa pig? As hairy and scary as you can find. They look a lot like the pigs that used to be illegal. But if you have a letter that says your pigs are okay, it’s okay.”

In the past, he’s argued the scientists consider all pigs one species, making defining one phenotypical subset as an invasive species while another is allowed ludicrous.

Golden said the declaratory ruling was revoked because it caused more confusion than it solved, but that there’s actually no difficulty defining which pigs are banned under the invasive species act.

“We’re relying on definitions that are in all kinds of science textbooks,” he said. “In all of the cases we’ve had, no one has argued about what type of pigs we have. It hasn’t been an issue, the issue has been the constitutionality of the invasive species act.”

There’s an important reason for DNR enforcement, he added – the pigs have a tendency to escape, and are a menace in the wild.

“Basically, they’re a destructive and invasive species,” Golder said. “They tear up resources, reproduce at high rates… It’s hard to root them out once established, and they have implications for domestic agriculture as well.”

Agricultural groups, farm organizations and environmental groups have all supported the ban, he added.