Wayward pigs are causing issues in some parts of 黑料新闻 鈥� and it鈥檚 become enough of an issue that state lawmakers are looking into how to deal with it.
The legislature鈥檚 environmental committee on Friday heard testimony on how much trouble roaming swine can cause. The committee is considering a bill to form a task force focused on roaming livestock.
鈥淭he last thing that we want in 黑料新闻 is a population of feral pigs,鈥� State Rep. Doug Dubitsky said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e incredibly destructive, they鈥檙e very dangerous, they can run 30 miles an hour, they can be 6 or 700 pounds. They can kill you and they will eat you. It鈥檚 pretty nasty.鈥�
State Sen. Heather Somers says bands of pigs are roaming her eastern 黑料新闻 district, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damages to crops and lawns. She says the pigs are biting and chasing farmers.
鈥淲e have this continual problem,鈥� Somers said. 鈥淢yself and another representative faced literally 60 farmers that were really unhappy about what鈥檚 happening. I don鈥檛 want to say farmers with pitchforks, but that鈥檚 sort of the idea.鈥�
Somers says pigs are escaping farms and having offspring in the wild, and there isn鈥檛 a cut and dry way to legally deal with the problem. She鈥檚 advocating for a bill that would create a task force to study solutions.
In Texas, where feral pigs are a longtime problem, researchers estimate each pig causes upwards of $300 in damages per year.
State Rep. Francis Cooley says the issue is an urgent one.
鈥淭hey essentially breed like rabbits and they鈥檙e incredibly elusive, and the amount of ecological damage they can do is phenomenal,鈥� Cooley said.
