license and permit questions

[30.06]

i notice on the wma brochures it says no hunting license is necessary to hunt hogs. if you read the requirements for the season it lists a bunch of permits i usually get in the sportsmans license. so to only hunt hogs what are the requirements? do i still need a wma permit, archery permit, muzzleloading permit, depending on the season? i will probably still get my sportsmans license, but my hunting buddy is on a tight budget and does not like to hunt anything but hogs.

[Iluv2hunt]

They are changing the verbage this year. Tell him to not fight the gray area and get a license.

[down4dacount]

Which WMA are you asking about cause all the ones I hunt require a license to hunt hogs and I hunt a bunch . Now I don't know if you need an archery or Muzzleloader stamp if you're hunting hogs in small game season with a bow or a muzzle . I normally get the Gold Sportsmans and I'm good to go . Tell him to call FWC in Tallahassee and get the facts straight .

[Iluv2hunt]

Ray, there is actually a loop hole in the law that if you are hunting hogs only, you don't need a hunting license on wma's(due to them not being classified as game animals). If I remember what Chuck said, it is to be reworded this off season

[Kortsman]

Just remember. Even though all game wardens "should" know all the rules, it doesn't mean that they "do" know all the rules. Your buddy may end up with a ticket and have to fight it in court. Think of the time and expense that will take vs the cost of a license, mgmt stamp, etc.
A hunting license is a little more than the cost of a 12 pack. (unless you're drinking Natty like me, which in that case it's a 12 pack and a 6er for a license)

[Mr. Lolo]

Which WMA are you asking about cause all the ones I hunt require a license to hunt hogs and I hunt a bunch . Now I don't know if you need an archery or Muzzleloader stamp if you're hunting hogs in small game season with a bow or a muzzle . I normally get the Gold Sportsmans and I'm good to go . Tell him to call FWC in Tallahassee and get the facts straight .

Not sure if and when changing, but this was discussed in Sept.

Sept 5-6 FWC meeting Agenda:

This proposal would give the Commission the authority to require a hunting license to hunt wildlife, not just game, on public lands. This issue was originally proposed to deal with hunting hogs on wildlife management areas, but it was expanded to include all wildlife should a similar situation happen in the future.

Hogs are not a game species, but are the second most hunted species in Florida, after white-tail deer. They are popular to hunt on public and private lands. While it was assumed by many that hunting hogs on public lands require a license, that is not the case. This proposal would authorize the Commission to require a hunting license on public lands, on a species by species basis.
The requirement would have to be implemented by Commission rule or by an Executive Order.
The fiscal impact is unknown, but is anticipated to be small, since it is estimated that most who hunt on public lands either already have a hunting license to hunt other game species, or think that one is required to hunt (hogs) on public lands.
http://myfwc.com/media/2617051/9B2-Sess ... tation.pdf



http://myfwc.com/media/2615484/9B2-Hunt ... cLands.pdf

2014 Session Legislative Proposal Agenda Item 9B (2) September 6, 2013 Attachment 5
Title: Authorizing the Commission to Require Hunting Licenses to Take Wildlife on Public Lands
Submitted by: Division of Hunting and Game Management

I. Summary of the Proposal
This proposal would give the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Commission) clear authority to require a person to get a hunting license to take wildlife, not just statutorily defined game species, on Florida’s public lands. No species would be added to the current hunting license and hunter safety education requirements without Commission rulemaking or order of the Executive Director.

II.Present Situation
Section 379.354(1)(a), F.S., requires a person to obtain a hunting license (unlessspecifically exempted by statute) to take “game” animals in Florida. Game is defined insection 379.101(20), F.S., to include “deer, bear, squirrel, rabbits, and, where designatedby [Fish and Wildlife Conservation] commission rules, wild hogs, ducks, geese, rails,coots, gallinules, snipe, woodcock, wild turkeys, grouse, pheasants, quail, and doves.”Therefore, unless the Commission designates wild hogs, ducks, geese, rails, coots,gallinules, snipe, woodcock, wild turkeys, grouse, pheasants, quail, or doves as game, ahunting license is not required by statute to take them.

Section 379.3581, F.S., provides that no person born after June 1, 1975 (unlessspecifically exempted by statute), may be issued a license to take wild animal life withthe use of a firearm, gun, bow, or crossbow in Florida without having first successfullycompleted the hunter safety course described in that section, or unless with a specialauthorization to hunt under supervision (mentor option). The course includes bothclassroom and shooting range instruction in the competent and safe handling of firearms,conservation, and hunting ethics. Persons who are not required to have a hunting licensedo not have to complete the hunter safety course.

Wild hogs (Sus scrofa), also called wild pigs, wild boars, or feral pigs, are the secondmost popularly hunted animal in Florida, second only to white-tailed deer. They are notnative to Florida, but they occur in all of Florida's 67 counties within a wide variety ofhabitats. Wild hogs can reach weights of more than 150 pounds and be 5-6 feet long.
The Commission has not designated wild hogs as game, and therefore a hunting license is not required to take wild hogs. In 2012, however, the Commission became aware that most of the public (including many of those hunters who hunt wild hogs), already assumed that a hunting license was required for wild hog hunting on public lands; most of the hunters hunting on public lands already possessed a hunting license, and if required, had completed the hunter safety education course. This discrepancy was such a common misunderstanding that Commission law enforcement had acted in some areas (in terms of communication and enforcement) under the assumption that a hunting license was required for wild hog hunting on Wildlife Management Areas and other public lands they patrol.

Law enforcement officers also have encountered situations where hunters have asserted they were only hunting wild hogs when, in truth, they were hunting additional species - making misrepresentations to officers in order to avoid the hunting license and hunter safety education requirements of which they were in violation.
The issue with a large number of hunters not being required to be licensed or educated on hunter safety requirements to hunt wild hogs could also occur with other non-game species.
Specifically on public lands, Commission and other law enforcement are charged with protecting the public. The hunter safety education course or the mentor option is critical to ensuring that hunters using public lands are safe and act responsibly.

The Commission desires consistency and fairness in licensing and hunter safety education requirements.
For all of these reasons, Commission staff began moving forward with a proposal that Commissioners designate wild hogs as a game species in rule in 2012 (thus requiring hunters of wild hogs to be licensed under section 379.354(1)(a), F.S., and to complete the hunter safety education requirements of section 379.3581, F.S.). This proposal was met with opposition by hunting stakeholders. They expressed concerns that defining hogs as game would begin a new regulation scheme eventually leading to increasing restrictions on harvest (for example, managing hogs to ensure sustainable populations by limiting the number of wild hogs a hunter can harvest, regulating seasons, or regulating the methods by which wild hogs could be hunted) or less access to the take of wild hogs on public lands.

The stakeholders opposed to the designation of wild hogs as game had no objections to being required to be licensed or to complete hunter safety education course requirements to hunt hogs. The Commission and staff, understanding the concerns of these stakeholders began to develop an alternative solution.

[swissk31]

I just hope that regardless of how they want to classify wild hog, they decide that anyone that walks on a public land , WMA, water management, whatever other public land there is has to have a license. I am really starting to fear for my safety at times out there.

The management stamp is the more expensive of the two, I assume your friend at least buys one of those? Just buy a license also and save having to explain to a LEO that is not up on this change.

[30.06]

i like to be up on the legal issues, and would be happy to show a judge a printed wma brochure that explains things clearly myself. not that i or my buddy is cheap, but i definitely dont like to spend money i dont have to. down4dacount i read green swamp, myakka sga, kissimmee river pua, kissimmee chain of lakes, they all say in the general regulations section "A hunting license is not required for the take of wild hog". just a topic i thought somebody here would be able to clarify. i think mr lolos post did it for me.

[Kortsman]

Sure a victory in court would be good feeling, but my point was whether the time you spend in going to court is worth the savings of the cost of a license? Personally my time is worth more than going to court, but for some people it's a fight worth fighting!

[Iluv2hunt]

Agree. And if someone is going to not buy a license and claim they are only hunting hogs....what are they gonna do when an 8pt steps out. Don't take this wrong bit I do not trust someone who would hunt on a WMA without a licence under the grey area

[swissk31]

+2

[Reaper]

Wild hogs

On private property with landowner permission, wild hogs may be hunted year round
with no bag limits, size limits or license required. They also maybe trapped but cannot be transported alive without a Feral Swine Dealer Permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by calling 850-410-0900. Wild hogs can only be taken on WMAs during specified seasons, where bag and size limits may apply. For more information on hunting wild hogs on WMAs, consult the specific WMA brochure Not a Mobile-Enabled Link for the area you want to hunt.

From Green Swamp Brochure

16. A hunting license is not required for the take of wild hog.



What is the confusion? Seems pretty straight forward to me.

[30.06]

exactly reaper

[Kortsman]

Yeah the hog hunting question is straight forward, but the original question was whether you needed a management stamp, archery permit, muzzle permit etc. If you're going to hog hunt on a management area, you need to have a management stamp. If you are hunting during archery then you need an archery permit. Same thing for muzzle... You just can't walk in and hunt without any paperwork...

[down4dacount]

Some WMA's require a license to hunt hogs and some don't . It depends on who manages the property . I understand that , but why risk a ticket and going to court to fight it , cause you want to save $18 . Good luck bud