AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The video attached is related to a similar story published in March 2019.
It will soon be legal for anyone to hunt hogs on their own property without a license.
"Feral hogs are so loathed by landowners in Texas for their habitat destroying behavior that, beginning Sept. 1, you won’t even need a hunting license to pursue them on private property," said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
A new law passed by Sen. Bryan Hughes during the 86th Texas Legislature exempts any person (resident or nonresident), with landowner consent, from a hunting license requirement to hunt feral hogs.
It will still be a violation to hunt without a license if hunting without consent. The new law removes any reference to depredation and the exemption applies for the take of all feral hogs.
The new law only applies to private property and is irrelevant of whether or not it is a paid hunt, although allowing hunting access in return for financial or other consideration still requires a hunting lease license from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
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A hunting license is still required on public land. Hunter education requirements also still apply.
Also effective Sept. 1, a law passed where, in most cases, hunters will not be required to carry their original paper hunting and fishing licenses with them to the field.
State Rep. Terry Canales allows licensees to use a photograph of their physical license to serve as verification of a valid license while hunting any game that doesn't need a tag, like dove.
A person must carry a physical license with them for deer and turkey hunts, and if you want to retain an oversized red drum since they require tags. Your license can now be viewed digitally on the Outdoor Annual mobile app or the My Texas Hunt Harvest app.
They will accept a legible digital photo, an emailed receipt, or their online purchase record. If the Outdoor Annual app was downloaded before Aug. 15, it will need to be updated to version six in order to access licenses and view the 2019-2020 regulations.
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