Bill to allow hog hunting from balloons passes Texas House with no opposition

A bill prohibiting regulatory approval or use of a pesticide for controlling feral hogs unless state-approved studies recommends it has cleared important initial hurdles in the 2017 Texas Legislature. A bill prohibiting regulatory approval or use of a pesticide for controlling feral hogs unless state-approved studies recommends it has cleared important initial hurdles in the 2017 Texas Legislature. Photo: Shannon Tompkins Photo: Shannon Tompkins Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Bill to allow hog hunting from balloons passes Texas House with no opposition 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Two local lawmakers are pushing a bill that would allow the shooting of feral hogs and coyotes from balloons.

State Rep. Mark Keough, R-The Woodlands, and Rep. Cecil Bell, R- Magnolia, are two of the several sponsors of House Bill 3535, a measure originally introduced by Keough in March that would have allowed the shooting of hogs from balloons. The wording of the bill was later expanded to also include the shooting of coyotes from balloons.

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The measure is with the Texas Senate after being approved in the House with no opposition on Tuesday.

Because Texas, as well as wide areas of the southwest have an ongoing problem with the expanding hog population, hunting the animals from helicopters, derisively called "pork choppers" by some, has been legal in Texas for several years.

The new law by Keough and Bell would expand aerial hunting to include balloons, because, according to its backers, hunting from helicopters has its limitations.

"The hogs are smart creatures so they scatter when they hear the helicopters coming," said Jason Millsaps, Keough's Chief of Staff, adding that the state has a "huge hog issue."

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According to Millsaps, balloons provide a hunting platform that is more stable for hunters, and costs considerably less than going up in a helicopter.

"It's a matter of expense and safety," Millsaps said.

Officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, noting they do not provide comment on any pending legislation and that the department does not offer any opinion on the bill, estimate there are more than 1.5 million feral hogs in Texas. And, because there are few factors to curtail their expanding populations -- such as natural predators -- the hog population across the state is virtually running wild.

"The whole state of Texas has a feral hog problem," John Kinsey, wildlife research biologist for the department, told The Courier.

"Some counties may be populated greater than others, but Montgomery County is right in the middle of the battleground."

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Indeed, a study conducted in 2000 estimated that $1.5 billion was being spent annually in the U.S. on combating feral swine. And as Kinsey notes, that is a 17-year-old estimate. Meanwhile, the feral hog population continues to grow and damage caused by the animals -- such as rooting up and trampling crops, destroying livestock watering and feeding facilities and being a general nuisance -- continues to get worse.

"Economically, they are a huge problem for ranchers and property owners. Ecologically, they are an exotic invasive species that competes with native indigenous wildlife for food, habitat and water," Kinsey said.

Kinsey says though there are several current methods of eradicating the hogs, including aerial hunting, none have shown great success.

"Aerial gunning is effective for controlling or reducing localized feral pig populations, but the problem with aerial gunning is it only works in some places like Lubbock, where there's no tree canopy."

In Conroe, Dale Tibodeau, the owner and operator of Texas Air Adventures, questions the safety of bringing firearms onto a balloon, as well as the practicality of using balloons in a hog hunt.

"They're probably some safety concerns I would have," he told The Courier.

Because operators can't steer a balloon like a helicopter pilot can direct a chopper, balloons used in a hog hunt wouldn't be able to pursue the animals running across the countryside to escape being shot.

"I'm not sure I understand how practical I believe it would be," Tibodeau said.

As for the bill, because the state Senate operates under different rules than the House, after arriving in the Senate it's not clear when the measure would be brought up for further discussion.