STORY HIGHLIGHTS
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MORE ENCOUNTERS WITH PIGS IN SUBURBIA: Damage reports are rising
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CITY SPRAWL: Cities are growing into the invasive species habitat
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HOA, CITY ORDANCES: Make it hard to battle pigs in a suburban setting
STORY
SAN ANTONIO – ENCOUNTERS INCREASING
Video recently shared with KSAT showed a Helotes resident surprised when he faced a sounder of wild pigs while taking out the trash. It happened in an area of new construction.
While feral pigs have long been in and around San Antonio, these types of interactions are becoming more common as the city sprawls.
Screen capture from a Helotes resident who encountered pigs in his neighborhood (Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.)
“It’s been amazing to me — over the last year and a half, the more and more phone calls I’m getting from neighborhoods in big cities, medium cities, city parks and rec departments,” said Jay Long, who has long studied feral pigs for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute.
A PERISISTENT PROBLEM
Feral pigs have been a problem in Texas for decades, resulting in $670 million in agricultural losses. For that reason, pigs are allowed to be hunted year-round and there are no bag limits. Mitigation is ongoing; however, the populations of pigs continue to grow.
SURBURBIA & PIGS CO-MINGLING
The destruction from feral pigs is now transitioning from a rural problem to a metropolitan one. That’s because the pigs aren’t so much moving into San Antonio, as San Antonio is expanding into their habitat and providing them with water and food options.
Trail camera footage at Friedrich Wilderness Park (San Antonio Parks And Rec)
“They just have the perfect little tool on the front of their face and nose to just come in here and dig all of this up,” Long said as he showed KSAT recent damage at Friedrich Wilderness Park, which sits just inside city limits.
A neighborhood that sits adjacent to the park, Stonewall Estates, has reported damage to numerous homes due to pig rooting.
Trail camera footage at Friedrich Wilderness Park (San Antonio Parks and Rec)
“That’s usually what spurs most of my phone calls from neighborhoods. We’ve had 20 houses in the neighborhood getting their entire front yard looking exactly like this,” said Long, who pointed to damage in Friedrich Park.
WHAT CAN HOMEOWNERS DO?
Flowerbeds, sprinkler lines and landscapes are all at risk. But what exactly can neighborhoods do? This is where it gets tricky.
“Their management efforts are severely limited, compared to a rancher that owns a thousand acres well outside any of the cities,” Long said.
That’s because homeowner associations and city ordinances make it tough to battle pigs in a suburban setting.
For instance, shooting at pigs in a residential neighborhood would be problematic. Trapping is often the best bet, but Long cautioned that it can be expensive and feral pigs are intelligent animals.
It’s why he’s launched a campaign to educate cities and metropolitan areas to better understand the battle that lies ahead. The hope is to provide more options to those inside the city limits.
Currently, San Antonio does hire a trapping company to contain the problem in places like Friedrich Park.
Trail camera footage at Friedrich Wilderness Park (San Antonio Parks and Rec)
WHY SHOULD WE WORRY?
Feral pigs, despite their large size, don’t normally pose a physical threat to humans. It’s their destruction of property and the risk of disease that makes them a real hazard.
“Those diseases can be spread to humans, pets, other wildlife and other livestock,” Long said.
Meanwhile, in areas that have successfully eradicated wild pigs, researchers are discovering that native animals and plants are making a comeback. Long’s hope is that greater awareness can lead to a decline in the invasive species.
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Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.