Pigs Living On East Bay Golf Course To Be Hunted
CLAYTON (BCN) - The Oakhurst Country Club in Clayton has hired a hunter to shoot up to 15 wild pigs that have been causing major damage to the golf course, officials said Tuesday.
The club, located at 1001 Peacock Creek Drive, obtained a depredation permit from the California Department of Fish and Game to kill the pigs, which have been tearing up the golf course looking for grubs, California Department of Fish and Game Warden Jessica Jacobsen said.
Police said problems with wild pigs are common in Clayton at this time of year because their normal habitat is extremely dry, driving the pigs down from the foothills to forage for food.
The animals, which can weigh up to 300 pounds, are attracted to the moist soil on the golf course, Jacobsen said.
The Department of Fish and Game issues depredation permits for certain animals when they are destroying crops or property and measures taken to prevent the destruction have failed, Jacobsen said.
She said that in their application for a depredation order, country club owners stated that they had tried to keep the pigs out by fencing off parts of the golf course and had even had employees stay up all night to chase the pigs off the property.
The pigs, however, have continued to cause thousands of dollars in damage to the golf course, Jacobsen said.
She said wild pigs are difficult to fence out because they simply dig under fences.
"Pigs are very smart animals," Jacobsen said.
Because the country club is within city limits, the depredation
permit only allowed the property owner to trap the pigs or hunt them with a bow and arrow unless they have authorization from the police department to shoot them.
Police confirmed that the country club has been authorized to shoot the animals.
The city also has a permit to kill an unlimited number of wild pigs that have been destroying the city's sports complex, Jacobsen said.
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