- December 4, 2025
There are between 12-15 individual animals in the group of hogs digging up dirt at Craig Flagler Palms Memorial Gardens. Courtesy photo
There are between 12-15 individual animals in the group of hogs digging up dirt at Craig Flagler Palms Memorial Gardens. Courtesy photo
Wild hogs are digging up dirt across dozens of graves at Flagler Memorial Gardens cemetery. Courtesy photo
Wild hogs are digging up dirt across dozens of graves at Flagler Memorial Gardens cemetery. Courtesy photo
Wild hogs are digging up dirt across dozens of graves at Flagler Memorial Gardens cemetery. Courtesy photo
Wild hogs are digging up dirt across dozens of graves at Flagler Memorial Gardens cemetery. Courtesy photo
Wild hogs at the Flagler Memorial Gardens have upturned dirt across multiple grave site on the cemetery grounds.
"It kind of happened overnight," said Funeral Home Director Sal Passalaqua Jr. "They just hit like a bad hurricane."
The problem has been ongoing for a few weeks as the hogs search for food in the soil, causing damage to the grounds in the process, according to a statement from Craig-Flagler Palms Funeral Home. The funeral home is working to fix the damage and trap the hogs.
"The damage has understandably raised concerns from families and the community who care deeply about this sacred space," the statement said. "We share those concerns."
Passalaqua said four of the eight Gardens sections have damage from the hogs, all along the original north side of the cemetery. He and his staff were on the grounds on Monday, Aug. 18 digging grave markers out from under the turned up dirt.
"This is something that does not get fixed overnight," he said.
In the statement sent to the media, Passalaqua said Craig Flagler Palms "is committed to maintaining our grounds with dignity, respect, and care. We take this issue very seriously and have already put solutions in motion."
Craig Flagler Palms has hired a licensed trapper who was on site earlier in the week. The trapper has begun baiting the hogs with corn outside of the cemetery grounds to draw them away from the burial sites, the press release said. Cameras are being used to monitor the hog activity to properly trap and relocate them.
Passalaqua told the Observer that for now the funeral home is waiting on the trapper to have a free trap available to eliminate the wild hogs. The group of hogs around Craig Flager Palms seems to be composed of around 12-15 animals, he said.
"They [the trapper] are inundated," he said, "because this is obviously an issue in the county."
In the meantime, the Craig Flagler Palms team is working to restore the damaged areas "so the cemetery continues to reflect the peace and respect it deserves."
"We know how upsetting it is for families to see this type of damage, and we are being fully transparent about the challenges and the steps we’re taking to address them," the press release said. "This is our community cemetery, and protecting it is a responsibility we do not take lightly."
Passalaqua said there have been comments made that the cemetery does not care about maintaining the grounds or that the destruction is from vandalism. He said
Wild hogs have been a nuisance across Flagler County for years, causing property damage from across the county. The hogs have caused enough problems that Flagler County has looked into different methods of capturing and studying the invasive species.
The county eventually created a dashboard where residents can report wild hog sightings, and most of the reported damage and sighting is centered on the neighborhoods along Colbert Lane.
