McKinney Farmer Battles ‘Worst Feral Pig Invasion'

Feral hogs are a nuisance for anyone who's dealt with them.

But the battle to keep them from damaging farmland is getting tougher by the day.

Just north of the hustle and bustle of busy McKinney, one family is finding that out first hand.

Gidney Farms is one of the oldest farms in McKinney.

The family has called McKinney home for more than a century.

In all that time, they say they’ve never seen a feral hog invasion like the one they’re dealing with now.

“We’ve got them like everywhere, every pasture,” said farm co-owner Clint Gidney.

Feral hogs uproot farmland and destroy hay that’s meant for his hundreds of head of cattle.

Last year, he says they cost him tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

“Some of it is the development they're pushing north and building is destroying their habitat,” he said.

He’s a victim of circumstance, now on a mission to root out public enemy number one.

Earlier this year, he installed three homemade feral hog traps on his property.

The strategy is paying off.

He says he’s trapped about 70 feral hogs, including 30 earlier this week.

The hogs are given away to people that eat them and Rutledge says there are plenty of takers.

“I know we always come out ahead,” Rutledge said.

It’s small victory for farmers finding a way to overcome adversity and any challenge that crops up.

“You wake up every day and you try do your best and then you've got these animals that you have to worry about so it’s always something, it seems like,” Rutledge said.

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