Georgia House passes bill expanding feral hog hunting, allows use of drones

The Georgia House passed a bill last Tuesday that expands feral hog hunting in the state.

House Bill 946 would allow the use of drones in hog hunting and remove the requirement of a license for trapping feral hogs. The law would also remove the need for a wildlife control permit for hunting feral hogs from a moving vehicle.

The bill passed the House with 163-1 votes.

“I don’t think that this bill alone will solve our feral hog problem,” said Charlie Killmaster, the senior wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division. “Systematically through law changes and regulatory changes, we have steadily reduced any potential restrictions that might get in the way of hog control efforts, and this is another one of those steps.”

If passed, drones could be used to spot a sounder of hogs and increase efficiency for trapping and hunting efforts. The use of drones in hunting would be considered unethical under normal circumstances, Killmaster said.

“With feral hogs, this is not hunting. It’s control,” he said. “We stick to fair chase principles for our native species that are supposed to be here, but with feral hogs, they don’t get any of those protections.”

What’s the big deal?

Feral hogs are an invasive species that were brought over when European settlers colonized the Americas. Issues with hogs arise in how they forage for food.

“They root up the ground. They dig up the ground looking for insect grubs, tubers, things like that,” Killmaster said. “In the process of doing that they damage agricultural lands. They damage crops. They eat crops. They cause a lot of erosion and runoff in creeks and rivers.”

In addition, the waste hogs produce can pollute waterways because hogs spend a lot of their time wallowing in water sources, which can negatively affect other wildlife species, Killmaster said.

The Georgia Feral Hog Task Force works with several state and federal agencies as well as non-governmental organizations to manage feral hog populations, Killmaster said.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources launched the Hog Down Awards Program to incentivize hog control efforts and award participants with better tools to trap hogs. The department will award 20 whole-sounder feral hog traps per year to winners of the contest.