Alert! Contact State of TX and stop helicopter hunting of pigs. Cross Post Okay

[Guest guest]

Please contact your State of Texas Representatives and Senators and politely but firmly object to pending legislation that allows hunting of feral hogs by helicopter (see below DMN article).

 

Obtain contact information for State of Texas Representative and Senator by going to:

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

 

After you click on above link, scroll down the page to your STATE of TEXAS representatives. U.S. representatives are at the top of page, so scroll past the US reps as this is a bill being considered by the State of Texas legislature.

 

This is also an excellent opportunity to write a Dallas Morning News LTE by going to:

http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/lettertoed.cgi

 

Please Cross Post.

Thanks very much.

 

Margaret Morin

Vegetarian Network of Dallas

Concerned Citizens for Jenny

 

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/031809dntexferalpigs.4a89e22.html

 

Bill would let landowners lease rights to chopper assaults on feral hogs

 

12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, March 18, 2009

 

By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News choppe

 

 

AUSTIN – Lawmakers seemed open Tuesday to launching an aerial assault against the feral hog menace in Texas, but it's just not as easy as shooting a pig in a poke.

 

 

ERIC GAY/The Associated PressA chopper hovered over feral hogs near Mertzon, Texas, last month. The animals cause an estimated $400 million in damage a year.

Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, has written the pork-chopper bill, which would allow landowners to lease their property to hunters using helicopters to thin the estimated 2 million feral hogs causing havoc in virtually every county.

Currently, landowners can only rent helicopters and do their own shooting, but this would let them sell the rights and recoup some of their losses, said Miller, speaking before the House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee.

But lawmakers had concerns that this could turn into a slippery sty and left the bill pending.

Would feral pigs become a game animal, where hunters would have to dispose of the carcasses, abide by a season and other hunting rules, lawmakers wondered? And let's just say chasing a pig at 100 mph doesn't make it easy to stop at a property boundary.

Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville, said he got complaints a few months ago about feral hogs being shot from a helicopter near a residential area, where homeowners were disturbed by the squealing, the whirling rotors and the repeated gunshots.

While none of the folks had a lick of concern for the menacing feral hogs, "they did have some concern for sleeping on a Saturday morning," Mr. King said.

Another problem is that helicopter pilots, who now fly landowners with an agricultural permit, would have to obtain an expensive commercial license if they were flying paying customers out on a hog hunt, said Michael Bodenchuk, state director of federal-state Wildlife Services.

Miller said that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be tasked with writing many of the rules, but all of the concerns could be addressed – including using GPS to stay within boundaries and limiting the proximity to neighborhoods.

Most everyone agreed that feral hogs are a problem. A series of witnesses, many wearing boots and leaving their cowboy hats in their seats, described the frustration of dealing with the animals, which cause about $400 million in damage annually.

The menace spreads beyond ranches, affecting suburban playgrounds and highways, said Larry Adams, a rancher near Proctor Lake, about 100 southwest of Dallas.

"A little car doesn't stand a chance against one of these," Adams said.

The hogs are extremely prolific and even if the hunting bill is passed, it won't be the end of them.

As Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, explained: "I understand if they have a litter of eight, 12 of them live."