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Hogs Gone Wild in Florida

Submitted by Adam Dunnom on March 9, 2010 at 10:54PM

Categories: Outdoors

North Fort Myers/ Lehigh Acres- Wild hogs out of control.

In Florida alone experts estimate there are as many as one million swine in the wild- and across the country as many as six million.
Local trappers are doing what they can to control the population.

North Fort Myers resident Sandy Alsop says,

"They come out at night and you can hear them especially when they're digging and digging and digging."

For months, Sandy Alsop and her neighbors have had their lawns torn up by wild hogs looking for food.
Now thanks to local trappers, the pig population has been a little more under control, at least in her neighborhood.
Hog experts say hunting and trapping is one of the only ways to keep the population under control because of the animal's excessive breeding.
Hogs can carry disease and in a few cases have actually killed people.

Hog trapper Billy Love says,

"A lot of times I'll take the hogs and donate them to the church that's my tithe, to help people out people in need that need meat to feed their family."

For Love, trapping is not only a hobby but also a business- He says business is good.

"Sometimes I can average about 150 hogs a month."

The problem is so bad, wild hog experts say an international meeting is being held next month in Florida to discuss this world wide issue.
Experts are considering dropping bait containing an oral birth control from the air to stop the breeding but admit there are still many issues to be worked out.

http://www.winknews.com/news/local/86996872.html

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