Feral hogs are becoming an epidemic in The Big Country

BUFFALO GAP, Texas — Wilds hogs have been an issue in Texas for several years, and they have been seen all across The Big Country.

These hogs have especially become an issue at Perini Ranch Steakhouse in Buffalo Gap. "With the steakhouse and our guest quarters and things on the ranch, we cannot have bunch of hogs running around, it scares people,” Tom Perini, owner of Perini Ranch Steakhouse, stated

Perini mentioned that they have experienced situations where patrons would walk to their vehicles and run into the hogs. He then contacted Lone Star Trapping.

"In this group, I watched them for a week and a half until the full group of 26 entered into the enclosure," Lone Star Trapping owner Wyatt Walton said. "Once they did enter, it's on my command to shut it."

Walton uses a 3-step process when catching the hogs. He preconditions the hogs to a site., builds them a pattern, then he puts in his equipment slowly.

The system is designed to capture the entire heard, directly initiated from his cell phone.

"We have game cameras set out that are gathering intel and watching the hogs as we see what we are looking for," Walton explained.

Once the hogs are trapped, Walton loads them up and takes them to an approved Active Feral Swine Facility.

"The nice thing is we don’t have to do anything with them," said Perini. "He catches them, he releases them, and that's the story and that for us is great.”