A Bryan man says he has a big problem with wild hogs on his property.
News 3 finds out why he says he was slapped with a big fine from the city after trying to get the wild animals under control.

They're destroying his property; ripping through fencing, digging holes all over his front yard, breaking toys, even injuring one of his dogs.

"He had stitches all right here. You can feel the scars," said Bryan resident, Jim Swartz, about his dog, Jigsaw.

Swartz says wild hogs have probably cost him $2,000 in damages at his home in the 3000 block of North Texas Avenue in Bryan.

A local game warden says new city developments have the wild hogs migrating into places like this. We're under North Texas Avenue right now, you can hear the traffic. Where there's shelter, shade and food and water nearby.

"I've made probably four or five complaints from October until now and it's a joke, that's what it is," said Swartz.

City reps for animal control say they don't have any records of calls for service at Jim's address.
They came out about three weeks ago, though, because of complaints from two other residents.

Swartz said, "She said are these your pigs? I said, no ma'am, these are wild hogs."

Jim says he fed the animals and tried trapping them with dog kennels.

"She says, no sir, being that you have fed them, they're your pigs," commented Swartz.

According to city officials, animal control doesn't have the capability of trapping wild game like this.

Swartz said, "I said, you have no right to tell me that I'm responsible for some pigs that have been tearing up my land. I said, I just told you to go ahead and take them, that they've been a nuisance to me."

Jim ended up with a 400-dollar ticket.
Police believe Jim was keeping the wild animals as pets, based on nearby residents complaints.
It's illegal to harbor wild animals within city limits.
Jim says that's not the case.

"I'm gonna make sure I fight this 110% because I'm not responsible for it or anything else," Swartz said.

He'll get a chance to make his case, in municipal court...a month from now.

Texas Parks and Wildlife numbers show there are more than 1.5 million feral hogs in Texas.