The success of a series of hog hunts held on District lands last winter and spring to reduce the wild hog population has land managers planning to hold hog hunts again this fall and winter.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Oct. 12, prospective hunters can purchase permits for these hunts on the District’s web site at WaterMatters.org/hoghunts/. Permits will be available through 5 p.m. on Oct. 26, or until they are sold out. The cost is $50 for each permit (see chart).
The District-managed properties will be temporarily closed to the public during the hog hunts. Only permitted hunters will be allowed access.
The last series of hunts removed hundreds of hogs from seven different tracts of land throughout the District.
The District opened the land for hunting because wild hogs cause extensive damage to the natural habitats. Wild hogs, which are not native to Florida, feed by rooting with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field.
The District allows hogs to be controlled through hunts when the damage they cause is at unacceptable levels. Damage from hogs is occurring more frequently and with increasing severity.
In addition to obtaining a permit online, maps of the areas where the hunts will take place are available on the District’s web site.