WEST PENN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A group of wild hogs are on the loose in Schuylkill County.
Owner Michael Comisac said eight of his pigs escaped 10 days ago on his property at Big White Oak Ranch in West Penn Township.
Comisac said he just sold those pigs for about $5,600. He put them in a trailer to cart them away and they got out underneath a fence.
“I don't know if something scared them or whatever, but they poked their heads through the one side of the fence and they got out,” Comisac said.
He is really hoping for some snow because that means the hogs might come back.
“If it snows, if it gets real cold, the ground freezes and it snows, then they can't dig around and they'll be right back here at the gate waiting for me,” Comisac said.
Comisac said one of the eight hogs was shot by a person working for the Department of Agriculture during the search.
Neighbors and employees on the ranch are still looking for the remaining seven and would like to find them alive.
“It's been something crazy. We've been putting out a lot of bait for these pigs. A lot of mash,” Employee Brandon Fougarty said.
“So many people that are trying to help us in getting these pigs back because it also means so much to them to help a neighbor because they know he would do the same for them if they're ever in a bind,” Employee Zaccary Ruppert said.
Crews are even searching for the hogs at night because they are nocturnal.
“We use thermal imaging, that way the lights don't try to scare the pigs. So we use thermal imaging to try to drive them back through the fence,” Grandson Daniel Thomas Comisac Jr. said.
Comisac said if you see one of the hogs, it will likely run away and it will not hurt you or your pets if they are outside. If you see one of the pigs, he asks you call his cell phone at 570-449-6838.
“If they have a cell phone, call me. I'll be there in a half hour. If I get them back, I'll give you a reward of at least $100 a hog,” Comisac said.