Short answer: not on private land, if the landowner says you can be there. Texas Parks and Wildlife says plainly that no hunting license is required to hunt feral hogs on private property with landowner authorization. The change came from Senate Bill 317 in 2019, and it covers residents and nonresidents alike.
That’s the whole license question for hogs. A few other things still apply.
Hunter education still applies
Texas requires hunter education for anyone born on or after Sept. 2, 1971. If you haven’t taken it and you’re 17 or older, TPWD sells a one-time deferral that lets you hunt through the end of the license year, as long as you’re accompanied by a licensed hunter who has passed hunter education or is exempt. You can only buy the deferral once.
Coyotes are different
People mix these up because hogs and coyotes get hunted the same way at night. They aren’t treated the same. TPWD lists coyotes and bobcats as nongame, and a hunting license is required to take nongame species. The exception for depredating coyotes is aimed at landowners dealing with livestock loss, not a guided predator hunt. If you’re booking a thermal predator hunt, buy the license.
Night and vehicles
TPWD’s ban on using a light to hunt is written for game animals and game birds, and feral hogs aren’t game animals. Shooting from a vehicle is lawful within the boundaries of private property and banned on public roads and right-of-way. Every hunt we run is on private ground.
TPWD doesn’t mention thermal optics anywhere we could find. That’s the absence of a ban, not a written permission, so we’re telling you exactly that.
Moving live hogs is not a hunter’s business
Transporting live feral hogs is regulated by the Texas Animal Health Commission. Live hogs can move only from the trap straight to a recognized slaughter facility, straight to a TAHC-approved holding facility, or from an approved holding facility to an authorized hunting preserve. If someone offers to sell you a live hog to turn loose, the answer is no.
Ready to hunt?
Our guided thermal hog hunts run year-round on private land where the landowner wants hogs gone. We have the authorization on every place we hunt. You bring hunter education (or the deferral) and boots.