Winter-2022

However, the breed most predominant in Monterey County is a whole different animal. According to Mark Hugh Miller’s book “The History of Rancho San Carlos,” George Moore, a wealthy businessman, polo enthusiast and hunter, purchased the 20,000-acre Carmel Valley rancho in 1923 for $120,000 ($1.8 mil- lion 2022 dollars). This property is known today as the Santa Lucia Preserve, a luxury home community. He decid- ed he wanted to hunt pigs on his property and imported a dozen or so European wild boars. Of course, nature being nature, soon there were scores, then hundreds of the porcine plunderers roaming far and wide. Moore’s friend, media magnate William Randolph Hearst told him, “Your pigs have reached San Simeon.”That’s nearly 100 miles. “Monterey County has the largest population of wild pigs in California,” Burton says. Urban Trapping maintains contracts with farmers, property owners and government agencies to trap the animals. Burton uses metal cages, baited with a variety of things pigs like to eat, and he has plenty of choices. “They will eat just about anything,” Cann says. “That’s what makes them so successful and prolific.” They’re also highly intel- ligent. “They can figure out how to avoid a trap,” Burton says. “I’ve seen pigs find the weak spot in a trap that even I didn’t know existed. Because you know you’re dealing with an animal that’s that smart, it makes them much harder to catch.” After being humanely euthanized, Burton first offers the meat to farm workers 162 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 Though Burton says that they account for a small percentage of his business, perhaps the most dramatic work Urban Trapping performs is the trapping of feral pigs. Photos: Courtesy of Urban Trappers Native Animal Rescue of Santa Cruz is dedicated to rehabilitating wild animals and releasing them into the wild. Burton often takes animals there, including this juvenile grey fox, owlet and fawn. All were healed and reintroduced to their habitats.