City hires trapper for Dallas feral hogs

The city council approved a three-year contract with a trapper, Osvaldo Rojas, to help solve the issue, for $284,700 of current funds.

From today’s city council agenda:

Feral hogs pose a potential hazard to humans as they can carry diseases which can be transferred in the City’s waterways. Feral hogs are currently present in the City’s parks, golf courses, levee systems and other areas causing damage to City and residential property. Feral hogs travel via creeks, rivers and levee systems (flood plains) foraging for food and water sources. Small animals, including pets, can provide that food source. Almost every county and state is dealing with an increased number of feral hogs which have no known predators to keep their numbers under control.

In January of last year, a reader sent us a photo of one of these feral pigs roaming around White Rock Lake. The post sparked lots of interest among neighbors, becoming one of our most popular stories.

The hogs have mostly been seen in the Trinity levee area. I’ve left messages with the city over the past several days to find out if and where these feral hogs have been spotted around the lakes, creeks and parks of Lakewood, as of late. It seems like valuable real estate for these wild hogs.

Feral hogs have been a nuisance all over Texas. Back in 2011, Texas Monthly reported that feral hogs cost up to $400 million in damage every year. And they breed like crazy.