Hog hunter urges respect for landowners

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Published on Friday, 28 October 2011 13:29

“Once you get a couple of hogs, you want to go out and get more,” says Kevin O’Neal, a Guthrie businessman who has hunted feral swine for the past 15 years. He has seen first-hand the damage caused by feral swine on his family’s property near Rush Springs.

“We’ve lost hay and they’ve rooted giant holes in our fields,” O’Neal said.

In spite of the physical damage and financial loss, he understands why some landowners are reluctant to allow hunters to access their property. He remembers a hunting group that brought horses, four-wheelers and dogs to his property and cut his fences in three places to follow the hunt. He says most landowners have concerns about hunters who may damage their property or their livestock.

O’Neal’s approach is to leave the property in better condition than it was in when he began the hunt. He picks up trash, avoids using vehicles on muddy ground, and offers to mend fences if needed. He builds trust with landowners who grant him hunting rights by inviting them to go with him on the hunt and watch him in action.

The best way to decide if a landowner and a hunter are a good match for each other is to talk about it over lunch, O’Neal advises. He takes time to listen to a landowner’s concerns and find out what is appropriate for each hunting situation.

O’Neal is one of more than 200 hunters/trappers listed in the Oklahoma Feral Swine Directory at www.ag.ok.gov. The directory helps hunters and trappers who are willing to provide feral swine control locate landowners who want their help. The directory is maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) as a resource to help interested parties contact each other and arrive at mutually agreeable terms. ODAFF urges all hunters and trappers to respect private property rights and abide by all state regulations.

An application form for landowners with feral swine problems can be downloaded at www.ag.ok.gov/ais/feralswinelandowner.pdf.  Landowners are grouped by county and the exact location of their property is not revealed. They are in control of accepting or declining offers from hunters/trappers. An interactive map of landowners by county is on the ODAFF website at www.ag.ok.gov under the “Directories” heading.

Hunters/trappers willing to assist landowners can download an application at www.ag.ok.gov/ais/feralswinehunter.pdf. A database of their contact information will allow landowners to extend hunting offers to them. Information will remain in the directory for a period of one year. 

Completed forms from landowners and hunters/trappers should be mailed to Oklahoma Feral Swine Directory at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, 2800 N Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured are (l-r) Richard Collins, Junior the Catahoula cur, Michael Woodall and Kevin O’Neal captured a 307 lb. sow on a hunt in Grady County earlier this year.