Feral Hogs Targeted By New Oklahoma Legislation

Feral hog problems in Oklahoma are nothing new. The wild animals can weigh hundreds of pounds and are often very destructive and aggressive.

So, lawmakers say they're now working to make it easier for landowners to protect themselves and their property.

"When you've got basically a 300 pound rat that's tearing up your land,” state Sen. Kyle Loveless said. 

And they’re going after your livestock.

"It's something that if we don't care if it's going to start destroying not just agriculture but in other states and also in Texas, South Carolina, Louisiana they've started attacking people,” he said. 

It hasn't happened in Oklahoma, but lawmakers say it has in other states, and landowners need to be able to protect not only themselves but their property as well.

Right now, in order to shoot a feral hog during deer season you have to have a deer license. 

"Unfortunately, the way the rules are now, if you have a problem with feral hogs on your property and it's deer season, you pretty much have to buy a deer tag whether you're going to hunt deer or not,” Tim Gillespie said. 

Lawmakers are working add language to SB 1142 to change that. 

“As a state we have to start thinking when we have feral hogs we need to start thinking of them not as a game animal but as basically a virus on legs,” Loveless said. 

A virus some strongly believe needs to be contained before it's more viral that it already is

"The feral hog population is a major problem in Oklahoma,” Gillespie said. "Landowners should not be pardon the pun hogtied."

Click here to learn more about the bill.