GRETNA, LA (AP) — Feral hogs feasting on Jefferson Parish's west bank levees may have met their match. Jefferson Parish sheriff's sharpshooters who were enlisted last fall to help the levee district manage the pig population will be kept on the job a while longer.
NOLA.com/ The Times-Picayune reports the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West's governing board has added $15,000 to the $25,000 Sheriff's Office contract for wildlife nuisance control.
Board President Susan Maclay says the shooting program is working. She says it's putting pressure on the hogs, and they know those levees aren't a safe place to be.
Authority officials estimate each repair costs $3,000 to $4,000.
When the hogs dig into the compacted clay for roots and grub worms, the rutting weakens levees. That makes them more susceptible to erosion.
