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San Jose Neighborhoods Beset By Wild Boar

SOUTH SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- Some unusual pests are going hog wild in some San Jose neighborhoods, leaving a trail of destruction.

Here on Capitancillos Place in South San Jose, it's that time of year again.

Wild boars are coming into the neighborhoods at night, tearing up lawns looking for grubworms, and terrorizing the people with their sharp tusks.

Homeowner Brett Linden said, "I'm actually kind of afraid of them, because I know they can hurt me and kill me. It makes me afraid, and quite honestly if there's one in my yard, I'm probably going to get my gun and to defend myself and my family from it."

Linden took us down into the Guadalupe Creek and showed us where large litters of boar bed down at night.

The pigs are likely coming in from the nearby Guadalupe landfill, following the path of the Guadalupe Creek, right into Capitancillos Place.

A city law passed two years ago says residents must pay on their own to hire a licensed trapper, at a cost of several hundred dollars per animal.

Linden, doesn't think that's right.

"Why should I bear the expense of a wild animal that isn't coming from my house?" Linden asked.

San Jose Councilmember Johnny Khamis led the charge several years ago to change the law and says a wild boar is the homeowner's personal responsibility.

"You know there's a lot of pests that invade people's homes," Khamis said. "Cockroaches, rats, mice, we are not asked to dispose of those problems."

"You live near a beautiful park, you can expect deer to come down, you can expect pigs to come down, bobcats, coyotes, we see turkeys all the time in my district," Khamis said. "So, yes they are a nuisance, but we've given you the tools to take care of the problem."

Al Avecilla has had his yard torn up several times and he now uses deer repellent. He says for residents on a fixed income, it's not fair.

"Well, we pay taxes," Avecilla said. "Do we get any protection, any services anymore? Or is it all our responsibility to carry the ball when the pigs come out?"

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