SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. (WFLA) — Aggressive wild hogs continue to be a growing concern for homeowners in Sun City Center, with some residents saying it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
Pete Pullen started noticing wild hogs in his back yard when he first moved into his home.
“Before we knew it, we had visitors in the back yard,” said Pullen.
Now the hogs are almost daily visitors in the neighborhood, tearing up lawns and leaving deep scars in the ground as they search for food. Video and photos taken by people in the neighborhood show large numbers of hogs — and some of them are very large.
“This housing area and the ones on both sides are being attacked by the pigs,” said Pullen.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suggests putting up fencing to protect property from pigs. But in the HOA-controlled neighborhood, the deed restrictions do not allow fencing.
Pullen says it’s not a viable option anyway.
“There isn’t really much we can do about it because we’re not really allowed to fence. Some neighbors have fences, but how do you fence something like this that has a quarter mile of lake right beside you?” said Pullen.
The wild hogs seem to be drawn to the lake for water and to mango trees for fallen fruit in the neighborhood.
James Gilbert, the president of the neighborhood’s HOA, also has problems with the pigs in his yard.
“They just destroy the whole property. They’ve been as close as 20 feet from my pool and lanai, you look up and you see the pig and you just hope they’re not interested that day. They have charged me,” said Gilbert.
Trappers have now offered to come and try to help with the problem, but so far none of the hogs have been removed.
Gilbert and others are concerned for the safety of people who live there.
“It’s only a matter of time before somebody really gets injured by one of these pigs,” said Gilbert.