Meet your new neighbors, the Boston Piglets! They love "open borders" and roam around freely! They're in a small Connecticut town right now, coming soon to your city.
CONNECTICUT
Residents of small Connecticut town say loose, ‘feral’ pigs are tearing up lawns
Jesse Leavenworth
Staff writer
Updated: Nov. 2, 2023 10:05 a.m.
STERLING — Call them wild hogs or loose pigs, but people in this small Connecticut town say ravenous, roving swine that may be breeding in the woods have ravaged lawns along two roads.
"These pigs, for all intents and purposes, are feral," Pine Hill Road resident Michael Grenier said Wednesday.
Since the end of September, pigs in groups as large as 22 animals have come to root up the grass on his two-acre lot, Grenier said. His lawn now has to be replaced at an estimated cost of $23,000, he said.
The pigs that have furrowed lawns on Pine Hill and Newport roads wandered from a local farm, First Selectman Lincoln Cooper said. A looming question, however, is whether they are now bearing young outside the farm, Cooper said. Grenier said he saw one piglet on his lawn recently that was "as small as a football."
Grenier said the pig, which were loose from a local farm, have ruined his once pristine lawn.
A joint investigation with the state Department of Agriculture is underway, Cooper and a spokesperson for the state agency said. They would not say whether fines, livestock seizures, or other actions may be coming.
In a rural community, Cooper said, there is an understanding that farm animals get loose and have to be rounded up, with restitution paid to neighbors who suffer property damage. But, he said, the owner of Radical Roots Farm where local officials say the animals are from, has not taken responsibility.
"He has not taken a responsible approach and it has led to some real misery for neighbors," the first selectman said.
The owner could not be reached for comment Wednesday despite multiple attempts. A post on the farm's Facebook page on Sept. 29 said, "If anyone sees the pigs that are out please contact us directly. We cannot successfully retrieve them or get them home if everyone sends their dog out or chases them away."
The farm's website says it raises animals for meat without growth hormones, chemical fertilizers, or harmful pesticides. Regarding pigs, the page says the animals "naturally want to roam and root. Allowing them this option reduces their stress. They can forage for greens, roots, grubs, and nuts. Our pigs can snack on hog feed (local, non-GMO) but prefer other food sources, if available. We also feed them produce, and have added brewers grain to their diet, which they love."
Cooper said the farmer came to town about two and a half years ago. Not long thereafter, cows got loose and damaged residential and farm land. Grenier, 61, said he was unaware of the previous issues when the Sterling hog gangs first invaded his yard. The Plainfield native said he has lived in Virginia and recently returned to Connecticut. His knowledge of pigs, he said, was limited to cuts of pork at the supermarket.
The first time the wayfaring swine damaged his lawn on Sept. 30, Grenier said he spoke to the farmer, who came out and planted grass seed. The pigs returned and Grenier said he called again and the farmer came out again to repair the damaged lawn, he said.
The third time, however, the farm owner did not respond to his calls, Grenier said, and the pigs returned every day for about two and a half weeks, plowing up his grass with their rooting snouts. He and some neighbors lured six of the hogs with apples and trapped them in his barn one rainy day. One slippery pig got away, but they transported the others in a trailer to the regional animal control office run by the Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, Grenier said. An official there said she could not comment on an open investigation.
The pigs have not returned for the past week, Grenier said, but he still wants restitution for his ruined lawn. He has become point man for affected neighbors, who post and comment in a Faceboook group called the Sterling CT Pig Patrol. Grenier and neighbors have had some laughs about the situation — a Halloween float making the rounds Tuesday was labeled "Divine Swine" and the riders wore pig masks.
"These pigs picked the wrong lawn to root because I don't give up," he said.
In the meantime, town leaders are working on a revised ordinance that would require owners of livestock to keep adequate fencing and fine violators. The first version failed at a special town meeting in June.
Feral hogs have wreaked millions of dollars in damage across at least 30 states. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest distribution map, however, shows none of the undomesticated animals in Connecticut, Rhode Island, or Massachusetts. The closest population is in New Hampshire, according to the federal agency.
An example of what open border policies will do to you! See what happens when you keep the borders open?
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