Southlake Police Work to Control Feral Hog Population

As Southlake expands and new developments rise on every horizon, the north part of the city retains most of its country feel with sprawling pastures, wooded areas, and nature all around.  Southlake Police are no strangers to assisting with possums in the garage or deer caught in barbed wire, but one animal nuisance has spurned the department to create a program to help citizens.

Feral hogs roam wild and free in the north part of the city and multiply so rapidly that they’ve become a nuisance.  Property owners spend thousands of dollars each year repairing fences and property.  In addition, the hogs carry diseases such as brucellosis and trichinosis that can be transmitted to domestic stock and even humans.  They destroy crops and compete with livestock for food.  They’re an invasive species that’s not native to Texas and can produce two litters a year of up to 12 young each birth.  Those young can then begin giving birth when they turn 6 months old.  Texas has seen a population explosion of feral hogs in the last few years.

Working behind the curtains, the Southlake Police Department has a hog trap established in the city as part of their Hog Abatement Program.   This program seeks to trap the hogs, humanely euthanize them, and then remove them from the city.  The trap is located in the Bob Jones Nature Center area and must be checked twice a day, rain or shine.  The department has also partnered with Texas Wildlife Services, who has a trap in the Burney Lane area.

The officers assigned to the program have placed signage leading up to and around the trap, to make sure citizens stay away.  As we work to reduce the number of feral hogs in the area, please avoid these areas if you see signage so that our program can continue.  Please educate your roaming teenagers on our program so they can avoid these areas as well.