Here is the New Wild Hog Regulations

[vontar]

Here is the New Wild Hog Regulations.

Now to find me some place to hunt this fall.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - Feral Hog/Wild Boar

I am happy to say the humors have been true.

***********

EDIT now that I have read More, I am not so happy and ready to complain. See below

Edited August 1, 2011 by vontar

[Mark A]

I guess I just don't get the TWRA (of course that seems to be a common theme). Except for a few WMA's there are now no places to sport hunt hogs? If I don't know a landowner willing to give me an exemption I am SOL?

Is there going to be a database of who has a landowner exemption? For example: I have a couple of guys that let me hunt coyotes on their land. I'm not a deer or turkey hunter and they know they don't have to talk to me about it. They each have a couple of sons that are avid hunters and those boys have buddies. If I'm out coyote hunting and a pig walks by I just have to let it go?

Why can't they just say they are bad and kill one if you see it?

Mark

[roverboy]

Yeah the hog restrictions are a little wierd this year.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Also, this:

Landowners, family members legally allowed to hunt the property without a license, and up to 10 designees may assist in the control effort provided by the methods exemption. No more than 10 individuals may be used as designees annually, as defined by the TWRA’s fiscal year.

I guess this is meant to discourage people from being in the business of having hog hunts. If they can only have 10 designees a year that would pretty much eliminate having a business.

If they really wanted to control hogs they would have a free for all. Anytime, anywhere and by any means. And handle poachers of other species when they are caught and make their punishments extreme. Make mandatory sentencing and very high fines for poachers as well as forfeiture of ALL property they own even for a first offense.

Dolomite

[Guest colrmccoll]

As a short aside, what are the restrictions on shooting a hog, while being attacked, in the GSMNP? I had such an experience without having to shoot and have read of another instance without a shot also.

However, I had to run. If I were hiking with my wife or grand kids running would not be an option. What are the consequences?

Edited July 31, 2011 by colrmccoll
additional info

[Guest Xring04]

As a short aside, what are the restrictions on shooting a hog, while being attacked, in the GSMNP? I had such an experience without having to shoot and have read of another instance without a shot also.

However, I had to run. If I were hiking with my wife or grand kids running would not be an option. What are the consequences?

I don't know, but too much common sense is needed to understand the "law".

[DaveS]

Someone done fell out of their chair at TWRA and hit their head on the floor! NO HOG hunting IS NOT the way to control hog populations! By next year, they will be begging us to "shoot them" on site.....I can't think of anything nice to say, so I'm done for this moment at least!

[Jonnin]

There was a rumor of people bringing in more hogs to run the hunt-property businesses. I think they want the hogs gone and don't want to encourage breeding or releasing them for sport.

[roverboy]

There was a rumor of people bringing in more hogs to run the hunt-property businesses. I think they want the hogs gone and don't want to encourage breeding or releasing them for sport.

They may be it right there. TWRA may think that hogs are being released in some places to hunt. I don't know about that personally. I've not heard about it.

[Handsome Rob]

As much as I hate the new regs, from a hunting point of view, historically & practically, ceasing all private land hog hunting (as opposed to eradication) has worked exceptionally well in Kansas for controlling the hog numbers.

If there's no market for them to be hunted commercially, there's much less chance of 'escapees' from hunting ranches. People will have no reason to import hogs ont their own property, solely to hunt.

One thing does concern me, however. What's going to happen with all the Outfitters that offer private land hog hunting? Where do the TWRA think those hog populations will end up? If it was me, I think I'd be hard pressed NOT to release my stock onto TWRA land, just out of spite for losing the business. But there again, I can be a spiteful bastard at times.

I've read the regs on this several tims & I still can't figure out if it's OK to whack a pig if I'm deer hunting in, say, Fall Creek Falls and one wanders by.

[vontar]

Someone done fell out of their chair at TWRA and hit their head on the floor! NO HOG hunting IS NOT the way to control hog populations! By next year, they will be begging us to "shoot them" on site.....I can't think of anything nice to say, so I'm done for this moment at least!

They really hit they head hard. see below

I've read the regs on this several tims & I still can't figure out if it's OK to whack a pig if I'm deer hunting in, say, Fall Creek Falls and one wanders by.

nope, I just found it. It is horrible.

Can I kill a wild hog while I’m hunting some other species?

No. There is no longer a wild hog hunting season in the State ofTennessee. (Exception: Some East Tennessee WMAs allow the incidental take of hogs during other big game seasons, see WMA

regulations for details.)

on Page 38 I am so freakign mad, it just ruined some of my falll plans. Now I need to find a land owner that has a pig problem.

SOB SOB SOB SOB

I am ready to call someone.

There is a slight change I might see a game warden tomorrow. I hope I see him. I know there is nothing he could change but to ask him if I he has any insight as to why that changed so much.

Edited August 1, 2011 by vontar

[Handsome Rob]

Now I need to find a land owner that has a pig problem.

Again, you're SOL bud.

Private land hog-hunting is no longer allowed, unless you are the landowner, or he has the correct exemption certificate to allow you to hunt as his 'Assistant'

The really, really confusing thing, is thatte TWRA have de-listed hogs as a Game species & made them a nuisance species. To my mind, nuisance species means no season, no limit (It certainly does in every other State....) here however, it seems to mean the exact opposite!?!?!?!?

Are the regs written by someone who got here on a floating door? Makes you wonder...

[vontar]

That is what I mean, I need to find a Landowner with a pig problem willing to put me on the list of 10 so I can hunt.

The exception appears to be easy for them to get if they want it.

The land owner and their family plus 10 people.

Edited August 1, 2011 by vontar

[Guest Oldyardog]

What do you think it will cost to be put on the landonwers list of 10? $500-$1000 Every landowner with a hog track on his farm now has a new way to make some unreported income. I was on a lease that had hogs last year. I only hunted hogs on it as I have better places to hunt deer. I won't be on that lease this year.

[JAB]

To my knowledge I have never even seen a wild pig/hog in 'real life' - only on television. I am not a big-time hunter in the first place and have never actively hunted hogs (though you can be danged sure I would shoot one if the opportunity arose) so my point of view is not based on being a dedicated hog hunter or anything. Still, t his is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard in my life. Once, again, instead of punishing people who break the law - in this case, people who would import/release hogs into the wild - the law abiding citizen gets punished through the creation of new laws which will not only be ineffective but which also fail to address the original issue. What the heck difference does it make if someone is legally hunting other game, has the opportunity to eliminate a member of a nuisance species that has been targeted for elimination and does so? What the heck difference does it make if people are legally hunting hogs? Maybe the folks who make the rules should assist law enforcement with ways to put a little more effort into stopping the release of hogs into the wild and a little less into screwing a legal hunter for shooting a member of a nuisance species whenever he or she has an opportunity to do so. Essentially, by more or less eliminating hog hunting, they have declared hogs to be a nuisance species targeted for eradication and turned them into a de facto protected species all with the same, dumbass law.

Also, it is pretty ridiculous to expect Farmer Brown to file paperwork and so on just to be able to legally allow people to help him eradicate a nuisance species from his own, damned property. He should be able to get all the assistance he wants and, as long as he is not actively releasing hogs or running a hog-hunting business, it is none of the government's damned business who or how many people he has providing such assistance.

I have to wonder how many people will continue to kill hogs and simply subscribe to the three 'S' principle or maybe a variation that would go SPS - shoot, process and shut the f*** up. I am neither advocating nor condemning such an approach - simply wondering if otherwise law-abiding folks won't be pushed to it out of frustration with the new regs. Will LE be wasting time running around arresting or fining Mr. Hunter for simply eliminating that member of a nuisance species that is targeted for eradication, anway? Time that they could be using to investigate/stop the illegal release of hogs in the first place?

Edited August 2, 2011 by JAB

[Guest GunTroll]

Less is more when rules are concerned. Simple. Direct. Informed. TWRA is a difficult agency to figure. And why are hunter numbers on the decline again (so they say)?

I hate paying non-resident fees but I will when it comes to hunting and my residency is TN.

[vontar]

Essentially, by more or less eliminating hog hunting, they have declared hogs to be a nuisance species targeted for eradication and turned them into a de facto protected species all with the same, dumbass law.

You are 100 percent RIGHT

I know I had been planning to go hog hunting this year and well, now it is illegal for me to shot a hog while deer hunting go figure.

Now my Hog hunting, I was just going to go Deer hunting in an area were there are allot of hogs.

I liked the idea of having a chance to shoot a Deer or a hog which is now illegal.

Second I was hoping the Night time hunting regs would pass and I wanted to try that (now I have to find a land owner that has a hog problem that might let me hunt.

Last year I was would have been allowed to shoot them on sight but never saw one, this year I was planning to go deer hunt in an area where hogs are known to be. I guess there is no real point unless I find a land owner that is willing to let me hog hunt on his/her land.

After reading everything I have so far, I really don't believe the following statement from the hunting guide

Once a sustainable hunted big game species, wild hogs are now classified as a nonprotected nuisance

animal targeted for eradication.

because of the following statement

If you’re trying to eliminate wild hogs, why can’t I take one when the opportunity arises?

Not only have historic hunting seasons proven to be ineffective at controlling hog populations, but they have inadvertently led to the increased spread of the wild hog range. This is primarily due to the illegal transport and release of wild hogs into new areas. Removing the incentive to hunt hogs will hopefully slow their spread across the state.

Seems someone that writes the rules and regulaions believes dead hogs spread the range of wild hogs. Go figure.

Edited August 4, 2011 by vontar

[JAB]

Well, I can see the claim they are making. That claim is that allowing hog hunting encourages the illegal transport and release of hogs by folks who want to release them specifically to hunt. The problem is, as with many laws, the people enacting these regulations show a complete and total lack of basic, common sense.

It is kind of like the complete lack of common sense regarding gun laws, in general. Gun laws don't prevent crime because a person who is willing to rob a bank or commit a murder isn't going to care whether or not the gun (or knife or bomb or...) he or she uses to commit the crime is illegal. Likewise, people who were already illegally releasing hogs aren't going to give a tinker's damn that it is now illegal to hunt them after illegally releasing them. They will continue with their illegal activity, find ways to not get caught and be more or less unhindered by the law. Legal, law-abiding hunters, however, will be hindered - punished, really - by the new regulations.

I can even see that they are probably correct in that traditional hunting models don't work as a sole or even main method in controlling hog populations. So what? Just because you allow hunting doesn't mean that you can't still employ other methods and using hunting as one of the methods can't hurt. After all, a dead hog is a hog that is no longer in the wild, no longer in the population, no longer breeding and no longer using resources so I would think that any and all sensible means - including hunting - would be included in the eradication strategy.

I said above that I am not a big time hunter and that is true. I don't see nearly as many rabbits as I once did so I don't want to hunt the relatively few that are left. I don't like the taste of squirrel and don't want to kill them just for the sake of killing, not to mention that I don't see very many of them around where I live anymore, either and when I do I kind of like seeing them in the trees. Turkey hunting is a whole, 'nother sport, I think. I was considering looking into hog hunting but I guess that is out, now. I do a little, (admittedly half-hearted) deer hunting but have never bagged one - probably partly because I refuse to hunt on public land and the private land where I can legally hunt is becoming increasingly scarce. Chances are that I would be more involved in hunting if the rules in this state made more sense and didn't seem designed to cause hunters to unwittingly commit a crime. The new hog regs are just one more example of what I am talking about. Then, as GunTroll points out, they can't seem to figure out that high on the list of reasons the number of hunters is dwindling is the TWRA and their overly restrictive, often asinine regulations.

Edited August 4, 2011 by JAB

[roverboy]

JAB, that was well said man. I agree with you.

[ttocswob]

TWRA arbitrarily banned hog hunting without public or hunter input. The unintended consequences:

TWRA to Close Catoosa WMA for Safety Concerns

NASHVILLE ---The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced that Catoosa Wildlife Management Area located in Cumberland, Morgan, and Fentress counties will be closed to all public access effective Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. TWRA officials believe this closure is necessary to ensure the safety of visitors using Catoosa WMA and agency employees working in the area.

Since late June, vandals have placed nails, spikes, and nail-boards in fields, secondary roads, and trails on the WMA. TWRA officials believe this vandalism may be a reaction by a small group of individuals dissatisfied with recent changes in the management of wild hog populations on Catoosa.

As part of the overall strategy to address the increasing wild hog population on the Cumberland Plateau, an aggressive program to trap and remove wild hogs was initiated on Catoosa WMA in early June, according to Kirk Miles, TWRA Region III Wildlife Program Manager. Shortly thereafter, employees began finding nails and spikes in fields and along secondary roads accessing wild hog trap sites.

I haven't bought my license this year. I'll probably just fish and hunt on my own land until they remember who they work for.

[vontar]

Jab I agree with what you are saying.

I have never went out to try to kill a wild hog before and I had planned and hoped to this year. I haven't had fresh hog since I was about 15 or so.

ttocswob, at least you have that option,

Myself I am looking for a place to hunt wild hog in a reasonable drive of Oak Ridge (maybe someone has a wild hog problem) and would be willing put me on their list to let me drive over some times to try to kill some this fall.

Edited August 5, 2011 by vontar

[Lumber_Jack]

we manage 10,000 acres in Fenterss and Overton counties. It is completely overriden with hogs and the population grows every year. Now, not only are our hunt clubs extremely pissed, but now the hogs are going to go unchecked. Because how many hogs can 10 people realy kill on 10,000 acres. Completely assinine

[vontar]

we manage 10,000 acres in Fenterss and Overton counties. It is completely overriden with hogs and the population grows every year. Now, not only are our hunt clubs extremely pissed, but now the hogs are going to go unchecked. Because how many hogs can 10 people realy kill on 10,000 acres. Completely assinine

I have a feeling they are going to be very picky about who those 10 people they let get on that list are then. However I might have to talk with you just in case.

[Andyshowfan]

Jab I agree with what you are saying.

I have never went out to try to kill a wild hog before and I had planned and hoped to this year. I haven't had fresh hog since I was about 15 or so.

ttocswob, at least you have that option,

Myself I am looking for a place to hunt wild hog in a reasonable drive of Oak Ridge (maybe someone has a wild hog problem) and would be willing put me on their list to let me drive over some times to try to kill some this fall.

The north Cherokee WMA will allow "incidental" taking of a hog during any big game season with the exception of on the bear preserves doing bear season. It is in cocke county and others along the NC state line. If I understand it, there are a couple of WMA's in Blount county as well with much of the same regs

[Lumber_Jack]

I have a feeling they are going to be very picky about who those 10 people they let get on that list are then. However I might have to talk with you just in case.

we are still exploring how the 10 person list works with our properties. Its owned by an investment company but still is considered a 'private' ownership. its a big cluster, right now.