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Commercial Helicopter Hog Hunting Proposed in OK 'Flying Pig Bill'

By George Khoury, Esq. on March 30, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

In the state of Oklahoma, the legislature is considering a bill that is affectionately being called the 'Flying Pig Bill.' And while some might think based on the name that the bill has as much chance at passing as a pig has at flying, that's where they'd be wrong.

Unfortunately, no pigs will be flying or taking off if this bill passes. The name is actually a bit of a misnomer, as the bill is actually proposing to allow hunters who go after feral hogs to hire helicopters and other aircrafts to use for aerial hunting. While it's not an activity the typical person is willing to spend one or a few thousand dollars on, for some, shooting feral hogs out of a plane, helicopter, or even a hot air balloon, is rare pleasure worth the high cost.

Charging Hunters to Do Government Work

For those that are just generally against hunting, there's probably no rationalizing this bill. However, for those that are either neutral or pro-hunting, the logic behind the bill seems sound.

Essentially, the state government already spends money on decreasing the number of feral hogs in the wild by using aerial hog hunting. By allowing regular hunters to pay for the opportunity to hunt feral hogs by aircraft, the state is providing not only a mechanism to generate revenue through selling the licenses to commercial hog hunting flight operators, but also reduces the financial burden on the state when it comes to feral hog population control, which actually required the state to kill approximately 11,000 hogs last year.

Helicopter Hog Hunting Heaven or Training Field

While the bill is still under consideration in Oklahoma, the states of Texas and Louisana already allow hunters to shoot feral hogs from moving aircrafts. However, in addition to state licensing requirements, there are also federal requirements under the FAA, which governs all flight activities.

An interesting provision in the OK bill though allows for the shooters on a proposed commercial hog hunting flight to remain anonymous. This is, according to one report, in order to allow military training to occur without divulging the identity of the soldier being trained. The bill only requires that the flight operator be identified.

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