An Aporkalypse

September 30, 2023. Michael Grenier, of Sterling, Connecticut, happened to peer out of his window when he saw something entirely unexpected. In the fresh mid-morning air, dozens of hogs, ranging in size from a several-hundred-pound animal to one the size of a football, overtook his lawn. Startled, Grenier rushed outside to chase them away before any damage could be done, but he found grubbed-up clumps of sod littering his lawn. Shortly afterwards, he called the CSP (Troop D) office to report the problem. Little did Grenier know that the hogs’ visits would continue and would result in thousands of dollars in lawn damage, that cattle would start roaming the streets, and that many legal actions would be necessary. 

The team of American Mulefoot hogs, which escaped from Sterling’s local Radical Roots Farm, has been breeding, traveling from home to home, and causing more “piggy problems” to occur in Sterling, Oneco, and surrounding areas. Grenier’s lawn was damaged to the tune of $23,000. Hog problems start small but can spiral out of control rapidly.  The USDA states that “Feral swine damage crops…destroy fields… (and) impact regeneration of forests.” The hogs can also eat just about anything. The USDA confirms that hogs can kill calves and lambs, attack and consume adult livestock that are giving birth, and even contribute to the spread of 30 diseases and 40 parasites that can affect people as well as animals.

On October 26th, State Representatives Anne Dauphinais and Doug Dubitsky and Senator Heather Somers contacted the CT DEEP expressing serious concerns. Near the end of their letter, they state, “We are sure we don’t have to tell either of you what kind of danger a growing team of feral hogs can cause to the natural and agricultural lands of our state. One need only look at the destruction they have wrought in places like Hawaii, Texas, and Pennsylvania.” 

The cows’ wandering behavior is dangerous both for other people and for themselves. An Eyewitness News article recently discussed accounts of roaming cattle, which were spotted in the roads while buses were trying to drop off Sterling students. This led to a Board of Education meeting on November 15th, where Robinson-Lewis commented, “The bus had to quickly stop, the children were jarred forward. We have a serious safety issue with cows.” The wandering cattle also graze on other people’s fields and may browse in forests, which could subject them to acorn and oak toxicity. Cattle typically avoid eating oak because it is not very palatable, but famine or an inappropriate diet can push them to start, according to Oklahoma State University. Local farmer Jenny Raabe-Eastep, who lost several valuable wagyu/hereford crosses to oak toxicity this year, warned fellow Sterling farmers about it on Facebook. She explained that oak poisoning “happens fast with very few signs. To the new owners of cattle: let it be known to fence off oaks or remove them from your pastures. Red oaks are said to be the most toxic.  She also lamented, “There is no specific treatment other than prevention. This is by far my worst week in farming. Another lesson learned the hard way.” 

Radical Roots Farm’s cattle, however, have already learned to browse on foliage. On November 5, 2023, Radical Roots Farm made a Facebook post saying, “For 8,000 years, livestock ingested and bedded in tree leaves, thus concentrating carbon, 

nitrogen, minerals and microbial life wherever humans settled.”  The farm attached a photo of one of 

its cattle licking a tree branch. The rogue cattle, especially because they are already conditioned to consume foliage, may resort to an oak-heavy diet to stave off hunger. Currently, no reports of disease or death have been confirmed. 

The owner of Radical Roots Farm, Ryan Salvas, did not respond to a request for comment from the Redline. Salvas has also declined to comment to WINY, Fox61, CT Insider, New York Daily News, WFSB, WTNH, and many other news agencies. Instead, Alycia Salvas of Radical Roots Farm attempted to serve both Grenier and Lewis with a petition for an Order of Protection on November 22, 2023. A WINY follow-up showed that Salvas accused Grenier of stalking, driving by the family’s farm, motivating attacks on her and her family, seeking personal information, and being obsessed with her husband. Other claims include that Grenier attended her husband’s court hearing even though it had nothing to do with him, interfered with the family’s finances on Facebook, and that verbally threatened Salvas family. The order requests that he stays at least 100 yards away from the family, their farm, and their livestock. Grenier, according to WINY, responded, “If those pigs come on my property, I can be nowhere on my property that’s a hundred feet away from them. So, does that mean I can’t even be in my house? I find that awfully ridiculous.” 

Both orders against Robinson-Lewis and Grenier have been denied by the Putnam Superior Court, and Ryan Salvas of Radical Roots Farm has been scheduled for another court date in mid-December. At least nine infractions of allowing farm animals to roam have been cited against Salvas since August 9th, according to the CT court system. Residents hope for some relief on December’s court date, with Grenier telling the Redline, “these problems have been plaguing Sterling for two and a half years. I just became embroiled in the circus on September 30th.” ■

Editor's note: Sterling's "piggy problem" was featured in the Wall Street Journal at the end of May 2024 in an article titled "A Connecticut Town Confronts the Aporkalypse."  Grenier may have begun using the word "aporkalypse" after we sent him this article. The WSJ  feature is linked here.