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Article Courtesy of Channel
6 Click Orlando
By Mike DeForest
Published May 27, 2021
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ORANGE COUNTY – Early in the morning and late at night, feral hogs scamper out
of a nearby wooded area and begin roaming the streets of the Beacon Park
subdivision in search of food.
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Unfortunately for
homeowners, the invasive animal’s preferred delicacy of
grubs and roots is buried under the community’s
well-manicured St. Augustine lawns that the wild boars shred
apart with their tusks.
“I’ve seen them over by the mailbox. I’ve seen them over by
the pool where the kids get on the bus,” said Krystle McCoy,
who recently had to repair damage to her front lawn caused
by the feral hogs.
Wild boars are responsible for more than $1.5 billion in
property damage annually nationwide, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, with much of that occurring in
Florida. McCoy
said she first noticed the hogs in March, but the damage has
intensified in recent weeks. |
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Besides making the community unsightly, McCoy is concerned that the feral
hogs might injure someone in her neighborhood.
“Someone can be attacked and hurt or worse,” McCoy said. “I’ve been running
out to my car because I don’t know what to expect. They could be right
behind me or up the street and I don’t want to get attacked.”
Although injuries are rare, a Brevard County wildlife trapper required
stitches after a wild boar ripped open his leg as he was trying to capture
the animal in 2019.
Communities with feral hog problems occasionally hire professional trappers
to catch the animals. The boars can also be legally hunted.
People living in the Beacon Park community said they have been in contact
with various property and homeowners associations that oversee the
neighborhood but have been told there is little the associations can do to
address the hogs.
Although many hope the boars will eventually move on to other, undeveloped
areas in search of food, McCoy worries that they will stick around for a
while near her home.
“They found their spot and they’re going to keep coming back,” she said.
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