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Hog wild no more
By SUSAN THURSTON © St. Petersburg Times, published November 24, 2000 Dozens of little piggies in Flatwoods Park have gone to market. A trapper has removed 106 wild hogs from the park between Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in New Tampa and Morris Bridge Road. The site draws cyclists, inline skaters and joggers from throughout the area. The owner of the land, Southwest Florida Water Management District, hired the trapper last month to reduce the park's plentiful pig population. The feral hogs compete with native wildlife for food, damage wetlands and carry diseases, said Darrell Freeman, a senior land management specialist for the district. "There has been some trapping going (in the past), but this guy has been way more successful," Freeman said. "You can't get them all out; they're too smart. But you can catch a lot of them." The trapper, Robert Fitzpatrick of Arcadia, paid the government agency $5 for each pig caught. He made his money by selling the live swine to a slaughterhouse. Fitzpatrick was more effective than previous trappers because he worked full time and knows all the tricks of the trade, Freeman said. In the past two years combined, part-time trappers took out 40 pigs. Fitzpatrick owns B & D Wild Hog Removal with his wife, Dawn. He has 30 years' experience trapping feral hogs, according to his proposal. He didn't want to comment for this story. The history of wild pigs in Florida dates back to the 1500s, when explorers brought them over from Spain. Through the years, they escaped into wooded marshlands and lost their domesticated looks. Unlike pinkish barnyard pigs, feral hogs have coarse black hair and sharp tusks. They average about 150 pounds, but can exceed 400 pounds. Some have spots. The pigs eat everything from roots and seeds to turkey eggs and snakes. They multiply like rabbits. Estimates put them at about 1 million strong in Florida. The hogs trapped at Flatwoods and adjacent Trout Creek weighed between 80 and 120 pounds, though one logged in at 300, Freeman said. Sows outnumbered boars, and several were pregnant. Fitzpatrick captured the pigs in 48-square-foot traps equipped with food and water. The 50 baited traps were placed out of public view and checked every day. The hogs went out of the park alive. The trapping took place during October and the first week in November. It ended when the traps came up empty over the course of a few days. Wild pigs get no protection under state law, as opposed to deer and other animals that come from this area. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission considers them livestock and gives landowners control of their fate. Although some people liked seeing the pigs in the park, officials said they were forcing other animals out and digging up trails and delicate wetlands. They also made easy prey for poachers, who often left them to die. Other visitors welcomed their absence. "A lot of people are afraid of them," Freeman said. "They can be dangerous if they feel threatened or cornered." The district plans to resume trapping next year if the pigs return. Longtime feral hog hunter James Apthorp Jr. knows they will. He has watched the population boom in the past two decades and expects it will only get worse as development pushes the animals into smaller areas. Just this week, he caught nine in one night on his father's land behind Tampa Palms. "The day that the pigs disappear, I'll be long gone," he said. "Being able to wipe out a population ... there's no way." Susan Thurston can be reached at (813) 226-3463, or at thurston@sptimes.com.
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From the Times |
