AREA AG REPORT
No hunting license? No problem — at least when it comes to wild pigs. Wild pigs have been a detriment to water quality, native species, and habitat and agricultural production for a long time. Estimates indicate that wild pigs cause between $800 million and $1.5 billion in agricultural damage every year in the United States. Texas has an estimated 2.6 million wild pigs and making that number smaller is vital to reducing negative impacts. The good news is things just got a whole lot easier: to hunt wild pigs on private lands in Texas you officially no longer need to purchase a hunting license.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Bill 317 into law, permitting any landowner, landowners’ agent or lessee to take wild pigs without a hunting license starting September 1. Before the bill, wild hogs had to be actively depredating or causing damage to be taken without a license. While many would argue that wild pigs are always causing damage, or at least about to do so, the new changes serve to remove doubt as to what is legal and what is not. Also, simply leasing the property now qualifies an individual to take feral hogs without a hunting license. No one needs to purchase a hunting license to hunt wild pigs on private lands. The only scenario where a hunting license is needed is when hunting on Texas public lands.
Any incentive to encourage wild pig control is a good thing, but even then, wild pigs remain among the most adaptable and reproductively successful animals on the planet. While no longer needing a license is a good thing, it remains to be seen whether it will lead to any significant reduction in wild pig numbers statewide. The truth is that Texas landowners already have generous laws for population reduction, but this change should encourage additional wild pig reduction.
It is important to know that hunting alone will not reduce wild pig populations, but a combination of management approach and well-sequenced control will be necessary to reduce populations. One study found that with an increase in hunting, wild pigs will not only be receptive reproductively at younger ages but also speed up gestation by as much as 12 days. Effective wild pig abatement is already a difficult enough task, but the new law provides an incentive for Texas and out-of-state hunters to do their part in the fight against wild pigs.
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