A pair of pigs running amok in a suburban Northern California city were captured before the sun came up Tuesday, but the trapper who caught them say the wild animals are just the tip of the iceberg.
"There's a lot of pigs still up on that hill," Rural Pig Management Inc., Owner Dick Seever told NBC Bay Area in regards to the feral pig population taking over the hills and front lawns in and around the city of San Ramon in the San Francisco Bay Area. "I caught two, but where are the rest coming from?"
The pig problem has been burgeoning all over the country, and more specifically in San Ramon, this fall.
Seever setup 11 traps in San Ramon and 140 throughout the Bay Area because the porcine critters are out in force. The pigs often find themselves in hog heaven, he said, because manicured lawns in the suburbs are so waterlogged with sprinklers that they become a spongy home for pig grub.
This week, Seever captured 25 pigs in another undisclosed city, and he's busy trying to figure out how to nab the rest of the critters rumaging through San Ramon. To trap the intelligent, nocturnal animals, Seever said he soaks pieces of whole corn in a mixture of water, yeast and sugar to create a smell that the pigs simply can't resist. He lays the corn in the traps, and sometimes, the pigs fall for his bait.
MORE: Horde of Pigs Goes Hog Wild in San Ramon
Feral pigs are an expensive nuisance nationwide. The U.S. Department of Agriculture even has a feral swine "removal demonstration" blog to document the issue.
Edward Avalos, undersecretary for regulatory programs at the USDA, states that the number of wild pigs has grown from 1 million in 17 states in the 1980s to more than 5 million across 38 states. In addition to wrecking lawns, the USDA warns that feral swine carry more than 30 diseases that pose a potential threat to humans, livestock and wildlife. And the total cost of swine damage to the country's agriculture, livestock facilities, private property, and natural resources is estimated to be $1.5 billion annually.
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Now, some residents in San Ramon are spending money to fight back against the pigs. The Henry Ranch neighborbood association and the city itself kicked in a combined $8,000 to pay Seever to trap the pigs and then dispose of them, according to San Ramon's interim parks director Karen McNamara.
With the proper depredation permit issued by the Department of Fish and Game, trappers may kill wild pigs that cause property damage. Seever said he used to donate the pigs to charities, but that changed when the government ruled that the donated food had to be inspected by the proper regulators.
MORE: Raw Video of Pigs at Night
While animal rights activists have long wanted to stop what Seever is doing, neighbors in San Ramon are tired of waking up in the morning to find their flowers and grass ripped to shreds.
"It looks like a tornado has hopped from yard to yard," Carrie Spurlock told NBC Bay Area last week. "We've tried to deter them, but they keep coming back."
She and her neighbors are cheering for Seever and hoping he catches more pigs.
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