BRADENTON -- The mystery of the pig perps has been solved.

After spotting a news article about pig carcasses dumped in Wares Creek, two young men confessed to police that they had disposed of as many as 20 carcasses there, according to Bradenton City Councilman Pat Roff.

"They were basically sorry," Roff said he was told. "I didn't think those who were doing it knew there was anything wrong with it."

The pair had been clearing land in the eastern part of Manatee County, when they came across wild boars, Roff said. After killing them, the men hauled them back to Bradenton, where they removed most of the meat, and then tossed the rest in the creek.

The men said it seemed like a reasonable way to dispose of the carcasses, but now know better, Roff said they had told police.

The dumping attracted a hungry flock of vultures, and set off a litany of complaints from residents, one of whom used his kayak to tow out to sea a carcass that had lodged under his dock.

Wares Creek runs through Bradenton and empties into the Manatee River.

Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7031.