TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Some Tampa Bay area families tell 8 On Your Side they’re afraid to go into their own backyards. They’re having too many run-ins with wild animals.
The families say the animals are threatening them and their property.
Wild hogs can be destructive. And for a community in Riverview, the hogs aren’t the only problem.
Video cameras capture one, then two wild cats. When night falls, with it comes, wild hogs.
You’re not watching Animal Planet. Unfortunately for Michael Lindsay, this was Ring video of his property in Riverview.
“It’s very, very upsetting, it’s painful,” said Michael.
The mess is too much to bear. Michael says for the sixth time this year, hogs ripped up his yard.
His neighbor watched it happen.
“It was scary! I heard a little noise,” said Lawrence Hill. “Looked out the yard and I just saw them taking off!”
The hogs are destructive; and the cats, scary.
“I can’t let my kids go back there,” said mom Breonia Smith.
These neighbors are asking 8 On Your Side for help. Their development, which is new, is right next to a conservation area: the home of the animals.
A Hillsborough County spokesperson says the county owns part of the conservation area. Although animal control does not deal with hogs.
In response to our story, Hillsborough County says they will be setting more traps in the area.
Wild hogs are found across the state. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife officials, they are not a protected species, so you can trap or hunt them.
Meanwhile, Michael says it will cost him hundreds of dollars to repair the damage to his yard.
“Bare minimum $1,400 upward to $3,000 just based off the level of damage to get new sod laid down,” he said.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say fencing is also an option. You can have an electric fence or a chain-link fence that’s at least 24 inches tall. According to the state’s website, the hunting regulations are different for wild hogs and wild cats.