Rural neighbors
squealing over
feral pigs’ fate

Neighbors disagree over
whether the pigs were
pets or pests

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

KALOKO MAUKA, Hawaii >> Miss Piggy is gone, and tempers are still hot.

Miss Piggy was one of 46 originally wild pigs that wandered into the forested North Kona subdivision of Kaloko Mauka. Real estate broker Tom Schmidt fed them, turned them into pets and allowed them to roam through the subdivision's multi-acre lots.

Schmidt's neighbor, Kris Taylor, didn't like that. She says the pigs uproot vegetation, poop on the street, and pose a danger to people.

The Kona pig dispute pitted neighbor against neighbor, frustrated authorities, and finally went before a judge who ordered changes. However whether the pigs and people can live in peace is still uncertain.

At Taylor's request, the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife trapped more than 20 of the pigs recently and released them in a distant hunting area.

Miss Piggy was among the exiled.

Schmidt says she understood human speech. She'd sit with people in the kitchen for an hour, he said. Then he'd say, "OK, Miss Piggy, go out now," and she'd leave.

Schmidt's neighbor and employee, Klausdieter Huebner, says Miss Piggy was his favorite. "She was my special pig. She kissed me every morning on my cheek," he said.

"She didn't like to socialize with other pigs," Huebner said. Miss Piggy preferred people.

Taylor says the situation isn't that nice. The problem began about eight months ago, she says.

"Prior to that, we could walk up and down the street. Now it's not safe to walk up and down the road. There's pig poop all over the road," she said. Rooting pigs have turned green areas between the street and fences into a mass of mud, she said.

Neighbor Ed Stevens says he started it all, feeding wild pigs on his property last year because a drought was on and the pigs were starving. "They looked so pathetic, it made me sick," he said.

Schmidt joined Stevens, feeding the pigs on the street. Neighbors bring children as young as 3 to watch, Stevens says.

When Taylor complained, Schmidt said the pigs didn't belong to him, police Captain John Dawrs said. There was nothing police could do about wild pigs.

Later, when state wildlife agents started trapping the pigs, Schmidt said the pigs were his and he wanted to press theft charges against the agents, Dawrs said. "We told him, if they're your pigs, they've got to be locked up."

Schmidt now says he's been "humanizing" the pigs to train them as seeing-eye pigs.

State wildlife biologist Miles Nakahara, who did the trapping, says the pigs are still wild and dangerous. He challenges Schmidt to try to put a leash on them.

Schmidt says he never thought of that since the pigs follow him anyway. But he does pick up baby pigs, and their mothers just stand and look at him.

Once, private trappers hired by Taylor became confused and asked Schmidt where to put a trap.

Schmidt says he told them to put it on his son's property. When they wanted it back, Schmidt said only his son could give permission to get it.

Police charged him with theft. The case is pending.

District Judge Joseph Florendo this week dismissed restraining orders each side had against the other. Schmidt agreed to fence his property better and to mark pigs he claims. Another hearing will be held Sept. 14.