Following in the footsteps of neighboring Texas and Louisiana, Oklahoma lawmakers have proposed a bill that would legalize hunters to hunt feral hogs from helicopters.
What is being labeled as the “Flying Pig Bill”, the proposed legislation would give landowners, companies, and pilots the ability to apply for state licenses that would allow them to shuttle would-be hog hunters into the skies for an aerial assault on the pigs below.
Currently speaking, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry already utilize trained marksmen in helicopters to contain the feral swine population within Oklahoma. Last year, the department reported killed over 11,000 hogs using this method and the bill’s sponsors believe opening this type of hunting to the public would certainly help curb the state’s problem pigs.
State Rep. Jeff Coody (R-Granfield) believes that the agriculture department has “put so many administrative rules on their books, it has made it difficult for private individuals to go out and shoot from an aircraft.”
In addition to potential companies and pilots applying for specialized licenses to charter these types of trips, should the bill pass, they will also be subject to licensing by the Federal Aviation Administration to allow individuals to discharge firearms from an aircraft.