A new law will take effect on Sept. 1 that will allow landowners to hunt feral hogs on their property without a hunting license.
The new law, Senate Bill 317, passed during the 86th Texas Legislature, allows any person — with the landowner’s consent — to hunt feral hogs on the property and not have to worry about having a license to do so, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a press release. It is still a violation to hunt without a license if hunting without consent.
According to the TPWD, the new law applies only to private property, and is irrelevant as to whether or not it is a paid hunt. A hunting license is still required on public land as well as hunter education requirements.
Also effective Sept. 1, in most cases hunters will not be required to carry their original paper hunting and fishing licenses with them to the field. House Bill 547 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.
According to TPWD, you must carry your physical license with you 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. Also accepted will be a legible digital photo, your emailed receipt, or your online purchase record.
If your Outdoor Annual app was downloaded before Aug. 15, you’ll need to update it to version 6 in order to access your license and view the 2019-2020 regulations.
