It used to be that people would let you hunt feral hogs on their land to just get rid of them. Now days it is big business and people charge hundreds for you to come hunt these destructive pest. It's like charging people for hunting rats.

I am all for people making money, but not if it is costing other people their livelihood. Feral hogs destroy billions of dollars of Texas agriculture every year. So while the one land owner makes a few hundred charging people to hunt hogs on their land, those hogs go to the land next door and cause tens of thousands of dollars of damage for the other land owner. So we have a conflict of interest. One land owner wants more hogs so he can sale more hunts. Another land owner wants no hogs because they cost him money.

Think it about in these terms. What if one land owner wanted to raise tigers to sale hunts and make money. But the land owner next door raises sheep and the tigers are constantly eating the sheep. What should the State of Texas do in this situation? The obvious answer is, the person who wants to make money by selling tiger hunts, must contain and control the tigers to assure that they cannot cause damage to the other land owner’s property and livelihood or compensate the land owner for the loss of his sheep.

So here are a couple of ideas.

1. Maybe the State of Texas should make a law stating that, in order for land owners to make money off of hog hunting, the hogs must be fully contained on their land inside a hog proof fence. This way people could still make money off hog hunts without adding the growing problem of crop destruction by feral hogs in Texas.

2. The State of Texas could create a Feral Hog Agricultural Restitution Fund (F.H.A.R.F), and charge a hefty tax to anyone who wants to charge for feral hog hunting on their land. These taxes would go into the F.H.A.R.F fund and allow farmers to apply for financial restitution from the fund for financial loss due to feral hog damage.

The bottom line here is that, feral hogs cause not millions, but billions of dollars of damage to Texas agriculture each year. People that want to harbor these animals on their land for personal profit, need to be held responsible in some way for contributing to this huge problem.

The best thing would be for people to stop taking advantage of other peoples hardships and trying to make a profit off it and voluntarily stop charging hog hunting so that more people would be able to help eliminate these destructive pest. That would be the right thing to do. But now days, people seldom do the right thing unless they government forces them to.

My thoughts are their land they can do what they want. If a hunter wants hogs there are public land options if they don't like that then pony up and get a lease or pay. If your not willing to do any of that then don't complain.

By the way I am in no way for the state or government of any kind sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. Why punish land owners who worked hard for what they have just bc you want it?

These discussions pop up frequently. Basically it seems to boil down to "I want to hunt on someone else's land for free, but the landowner won't let me. Therefore he's the problem, and he shouldn't complain about any damage hogs do."

The alternate viewpoint is that the landowner doesn't want strangers, about whom he knows nothing, wandering around his property potentially leaving gates open, littering, shooting indiscriminately, damaging fields or crops, suing him if they get injured, or causing problems with his neighbors, etc.

The hogs may be a problem, but they're a problem he knows as opposed to whatever problems might result from allowing strangers to hunt on his property.

I disagree with your write up as there are too many assumptions made. 1. One of my good friends hunts hogs professionally for farmers and some pay him funds to do so. 2. Folks with serious hog problems must go to war with the hogs which means constant hunting, trapping, any and all means necessary to get the numbers in check. This is a process that may take years. 3. On the other hand if a rancher has hogs on his property his best interest is not only to kill them, but make money doing it. 4. As an avid outdoorsman I guarantee you I am also willing to pay to hunt.

Although it is their land and can do what they want, some of it doesn't make sense...but again, it's their land.

I did read something awhile back on a Facebook hog hunting page where a guy that guided hog hunts responded to another member expressing his opinion about paying to hunt, but only being allowed 1 or 2 pigs per hunt, and they had to be under a certain size, and how that may be a factor in the out of control pig population. He said the guides wouldn't stay in business long if they shot all the pigs. They'll sell the pitch to the landowners that they're going to help take care of the pigs, but will only allow their hunters to shoot 1 or 2 per hunt, instead of shooting all they can. The landowners are under the impression that their hogs are being dealt with, but in reality a lot of the guides are exacerbating the problem by limiting the number of hogs taken so that they can make more money from more hunts. The way it was stated sure made it sound like a lot of the landowners are getting swindled.

After I read that, I found myself a little disheartened. If the landowner is relying on "professionals" to help with the problem, you can't really blame the landowner.

One thing to take into account is that not everyone that has hogs are overrun or have massive amount of destruction so they only see the hogs as a way to make a little extra money. We all know taking care of property is expensive in itself so why not make a little off the land as well.

Im sorry but the OP's argument is weak and it sounds immature and bitter.

1. Maybe the State of Texas should make a law stating that, in order for land owners to make money off of hog hunting, the hogs must be fully contained on their land inside a hog proof fence. This way people could still make money off hog hunts without adding the growing problem of crop destruction by feral hogs in Texas.
- should the state make a law that landowners must contain all the deer on their property before allowing them to charge hunters to shoot them? i mean deer account for damage to crops, ranch wellbeing, and vehicles all over the state.

2. The State of Texas could create a Feral Hog Agricultural Restitution Fund (F.H.A.R.F), and charge a hefty tax to anyone who wants to charge for feral hog hunting on their land. These taxes would go into the F.H.A.R.F fund and allow farmers to apply for financial restitution from the fund for financial loss due to feral hog damage.
- this is just stupid. This is basically saying since one landowner is making money off selling hog hunts then they are responsible for the neighbors crops being damaged, again stupid. Hogs are wild animals that are present all over the state of Texas, you cannot hold someone responsible for the damage that they cause. Whats keeping the farmer from doing the same exact thing by selling hog hunts??? not a dang thing, obviously hogs are a problem to them just as they are to the neighbor whose selling hunts to begin with, so why not join in on the selling of hunts?

What i get from this post is someone is butthurt that they are being told it will cost them to get out and hunt hogs on a property that they want to hunt. You have options if you want to hunt pigs, you can buy your own ranch, you can lease a ranch/land, you can pay for a guide, or you can obtain direct permission from a land owner, or you can pay the public land fee. Pigs are no different in deer, turkeys, coyotes, aoudad, elk, etc. in the sense that they're a desired game and a landowner has the right to charge whatever they want to, to allow someone to use THEIR LAND to pursue. To say that they should be taxed because their land contains wild hogs is ridiculous, they didn't put them there, they're wild animals. If you want to tax someone, tax Europe, they're responsible for wild hogs being here in the first place when they colonized the americas and brought them over for food. To say that the landowner should be taxed because they have hogs and the neighbors crops are being destroyed by hogs is also ridiculous for the fact that the neighbors crop land probably has their own wild hogs doing the damage to begin with. Don't raise sheep next door to a tiger farm.

How about the state of texas create a law that states if you own your own land you can do what you want with it, including charging for people to trespass on your land to hunt it for whatever game or non-game animal the hunter is targeting....

seriously, did the OP think about the argument he/she is putting forward before posting it?

Here is the argument in a nutshell:
1. I want to hunt hogs but don't have land to do it so I am going to have to pay to hunt hogs
2. therefore the state should create laws that make the land I want to hunt on (for free) completely re-do all their fencing if they want to change me access to their land to hunt for a fee.
3. Land owners are the problem not the feral hogs, so therefore we need to penalize any land owner that doesn't allow me access to hunt for free.



seriously, this is so un-american and so un-texan it isn't funny

Pony up and buy some land and you can hunt all the feral hogs on it for free..

Some folks don't believe in taking responsibility. It's always someone else's fault.

Yup...

yesssss!

OP position is ridiculous. I bought my own rough property. Cleared it, restored fencing, burned brush piles, planted it. Feral hogs run through it, I run thru them. My property, my choices. No trespassing, no hog hunting sold. My insurances paid thru my bank accts. I invite those I know and prefer to hunt here from time to time. You know, those that know cattle from large wild hogs, even in the dark. If you want a free hunt, go to public type 3 land. Adapt to stick and string and hunt for near nothing. Beyond that, quit your whining as most have heard something similar. We too pay to play at some hog rich ranches. Boils down to if it doesn't fit your budget either improve your budget or change hobbies.

Well first step would be dealing with state land then federal land.
The state or feds do not pay restitution, or even allow access to eradicate the hogs that trapping has not caught. I have sought permission for a night hunting permit. I am not a professional hunter only because I do not charge a fee. But getting rid of the hogs is not a problem, getting access IS. Property owners that have hogs and want them that's up to them. But now poisoning them can happen if they wander off to a neighbor's property, and return to die where they are safe. So 2 sides to every coin, farmer not responsible for hogs wandering off to die on neighbors property. I wonder how long it will be till the neighbors are complaining on the number of dead hogs on their property.

Pretty sure this thread is not where OP wanted it to go but it amazes how many people become experts on feral hogs after deer season is over.

And it happens every year.

When is turkey season so you girls will stop bickering?

The state of Texas let the feral hog problem get way out of hand before trying to control it. Twenty years ago they might have been able to, but it's way past that now. Sport hunting, trapping, aerial gunning, none of these do more than nip at the edges of the problem. That's why they are grasping at straws with poison. That ain't gonna work either IMO, because even if it kills lots of hogs, who in hell is gonna find all those hogs and bury them ? It ain't happening !

As for the OP, he's delusional if he thinks landowners are gonna throw their gates open to the public.

Does this fund that you are proposing provide restitution from the damage caused by the HUNTERS? In my experience, folks that I have let hunt my place have caused more damage than the hogs themselves.

Really bad idea partner.

<Max Yasgur voice> I'm a farmer... </Max Yasgur voice>

You all should take a look at what is being said on some other forums about this same argument. Bowsite and On your own adventures. Many have this same sentiment and I can't understand it. We need some dedicated hog hunters and landowners to chime in. Saw a good argument in person why some landowners limit who they allow to hunt. Took 2 good friends down with us for our hog hunt and they simply could not get it together fast enough to make a harvest. Missed some hogs that affected the hot spot we had been hunting, etc.. Many just think they stand around and let you shoot 'em. Landowners need a revenue from these animals to offset the damage they do.

I think the OP needs to buy his own land so he can quit worrying about what I do with my land.

I am continually amazed that the one surefire thing that will turn some conservative hunters into flagrant liberals is their perception that they should be able to hunt somebody else's property for free and they want the government to make it so - hunting/property socialism. Don't go there, brother.

Hog hunting is NOW a multi million dollar business in Texas!!