Aerial Wildlife Management Permit
What changed as a result of House Bill 716?
A qualified landowner's agent may now contract (pay) to participate as a hunter or gunner to take depredating feral hogs or coyotes from an aircraft.
What is a “qualified landowner or landowner's agent”?
A “qualified landowner or landowner's agent” is a person who has not been convicted of, pleaded nolo contendere to, or received deferred adjudication for:
- A Parks & Wildlife Code violation that is a Class A misdemeanor or felony (not including Water Safety Act violations); or
- A violation of 16 U.S.C. §§3371-3378 (the Lacey Act), to include deferred adjudication, pre-trial diversion, and assessment of civil penalty.
If a person is “qualified” to be a landowner's agent, what do they need to do to take depredating feral hogs or coyotes from an aircraft?
The person must place on file with Parks and Wildlife a completed Landowner's Authorization (LOA) to Manage Wildlife or Exotic Animals by Aircraft (PWD 0353 - L0200). The LOA is not valid until it is signed, stamped and issued a LOA number by Parks and Wildlife Permits.
Who can pay a helicopter permittee to participate as a gunner for the purpose of managing feral hogs and coyotes?
Only a qualified landowner or landowner's agent.
Can a person just show up on the day of a hunt and pay to be a gunner?
No. A completed LOA must be on file before a person can pay to be a gunner.
How long does it take to process a LOA and return it so that a qualified agent can pay to be a gunner?
Processing time varies based on numerous factors. Permittees and those wishing to be a qualified landowner's agent should plan ahead to ensure that the required LOA is on file prior to conducting any management of feral hogs or coyotes.
If a group of people wish to take depredating feral hogs or coyotes from an aircraft but only one person is actually paying the permittee, does everyone in the group need an LOA on file?
No. The person paying must be “qualified” and must have an LOA on file. Non-paying gunners are recorded on the permittee's daily flight log and reported to the department quarterly.
Can a permittee also be a qualified landowner's agent and then accept pay from anyone to be a gunner?
No. Only a qualified landowner or landowner's agent may pay to be a gunner.
Is a Texas hunting license required to manage feral hogs and coyotes from a helicopter?
If a person is a landowner or landowner's agent, he or she may hunt nuisance feral hogs and coyotes on the landowner's property without a Texas hunting license.
Does a person acting as a gunner need landowner permission to hunt feral hogs from an aircraft?
Yes. A person may not hunt feral hogs or coyotes on private property without permission from the landowner or landowner's agent.
Is sport hunting from any aircraft for feral hogs or coyotes legal?
No! It is a violation of both state and federal law to sport hunt from an aircraft.