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Wild hogs damage woman’s property in Seminole County
An 88-year-old woman in Seminole County says wild hogs are tearing up her four-acre property, leaving deep holes and widespread damage she fears could cause her to fall.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - An 88-year-old woman in Seminole County says wild hogs are tearing up her four-acre property, leaving deep holes and widespread damage she fears could cause her to fall.
Mary Pressley, who has lived on the property since 1967, said the problem is worse this year than ever before.
The homeowner
What they're saying:
Mary Pressley's husband passed away six years ago. Ever since, it’s been up to her to maintain her four-acre property in Seminole County. However, these days, she’s got a nemesis: wild hogs. She says this year, they’ve done more damage than ever before.
"They started doing all that tearing up and destroying everything," said Pressley. "It breaks your heart when you work so hard for it."
The hogs
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says wild hogs can have 26 piglets per sow annually. Those can grow to be six feet long and up to 200 pounds. And they can use their sharp tusks to attack when threatened.
The hogs root into the ground, leaving gigantic holes, and she is worried she might trip in them. Pressley does have barbed wire fencing, but it isn’t stopping the feral pigs.
The hunt
Pressley’s friend, Daniel Levesque, is a professional hunter. He runs a company called Rare Breed Fishing Charters.
"I'm not gonna eradicate these things," Levesque said. "But we could definitely thin them out and keep them out of her yard."
He’s gone out with his compound bow. Another friend set up a couple traps.
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Pressley says after that, she thought they could breathe a little easier.
"But then they came back worse than ever," she says.
The hiccup
The FWC says they do not provide removal services for wild hogs, but they can be trapped and hunted year-round with no hunting license required, as long as you have permission from the landowner.
Trail cameras show the hogs coming in from the woods, which is land the City of Sanford owns. He’d need their permission to hunt there.
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Levesque says he went to the City of Sanford last September, asking for permission to go on their land to hunt down the hog population. They turned him away. That means he has to just wait until they get to Pressley’s property and start destroying it before he can take action.
What's next:
Levesque says the offer to step in and help the City still stands.
"If there's something in particular they need out of me, I'm certain I can provide it," he said. "Whether it be a hold-harm or some level of insurance, and even for that matter, some form of a lease agreement."
Pressley says she doesn’t care how it gets done:
"I want the rest of those pigs taken care of."
City response
FOX 35 News Reporter Marie Edinger reached out to the City of Sanford about this. They said they’re looking into it. Edinger did see one of their trucks go back to the property while talking with Pressley.
The Source: FOX 35's Marie Edinger interviewed Mary Pressley, says wild hogs are tearing up her four-acre property, the City of Sanford, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and Daniel Levesque, owner of Rare Breed Fishing Charters.