There is plenty of information about the damage feral hogs cause to Texas farm fields and ranches, estimated at around a half-billion dollars annually, but little on the economic value to the state from hunting the hogs.
Feral hogs are a popular target for hunters in Texas, providing opportunities and free-range meat. With no season, no bag limits and no restrictions, hog hunting provides economic benefits to landowners and hunting outfitters and a yearround chance to hunt.
The economic benefit of hog hunting in Texas was recently evaluated by a group of wildlife biologists and economists, led by Dr, Sophie McKee at Colorado State University. In a paper recently published by CSIRO in the journal Wildlife Research, the group detailed the methods and results of a survey of hunters. Over 169,000 email surveys were sent to licensed hunters and researchers received 37,000 responses, a remarkable database for analysis. The respondents to the survey were primarily resident hunters: fully 91 percent of the hog hunters were residents versus 9 percent nonresidents.
As might be guessed, most hunters (resident and nonresident) hunted hogs while hunting other species, such as deer or turkeys. Only 3.4 percent of survey responses indicated that they hunted only feral hogs.
Expenditures by individual hunters was estimated from the survey response, and tools, guns and accessories was the category with the largest expense, followed by guides, transportation, overnight accommodations and lease fees. The average hog hunting expense per resident (2018 dollars) was $3,042 while nonresidents spent an average of $2,956.
Only 21 percent of the nonresident respondents reported they came to Texas just to hunt feral hogs. These nonresident hunters spent only $2,764 — less than that spent by those who came to Texas to hunt multiple species. Most of the nonresident expenditures were in the categories of transportation and outfitter fees. The researchers noted it was impossible to determine whether equipment purchased by these hunters was purchased in Texas (thus contributing to the value here) or in their home state.
Based on the survey results and an economic model of then Texas economy, the marginal value of feral hog hunting in Texas was estimated between $68.5 million and $188 million (2022 dollars). While significant, this estimate is far lower than the damage estimates, which puts pig damage in Texas above $500 million annually.
Because feral hogs are considered “exotic hoofstock” under Texas law and are property of the landowner, feral hog hunting will continue to have a significant place on the landscape. Landowners and hog hunters can play a role in minimizing damage and still have hogs to hunt.
