Wild Hog Hunting by State (2026): Rules and Where to Hunt

Hog hunting rules, night hunting, public land and where to find pigs in Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana, checked against each state agency.

JBy J. Bond · Updated September 2026 · 10 min read

Quick answer: Texas is the easiest and best state to hunt wild hogs: no hunting license is needed on private land with the landowner’s permission, there is no season or bag limit, and pigs live in 250 of the state’s 254 counties. Florida and Arkansas also let you hunt hogs on private land without a license. Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana have excellent hog hunting too, but you need a regular hunting license in most cases, and night hunting comes with extra rules in Alabama and Louisiana. On public land in every one of these states, hog hunting is restricted to certain seasons, weapons or areas.

This is general information, not legal advice. Hog rules change, and wildlife management areas (WMAs) often have their own. Confirm with the state agency linked in each section before you hunt.

The six best hog states at a glance

State	License on private land	Night hunting on private land	Public land	Live hogs
Texas	Not required with landowner permission (hunter education still applies)	Allowed, including thermal, night vision and lights	License plus public hunting permit	Only to slaughter, an approved holding facility or an authorized preserve
Florida	Not required with landowner permission	Allowed with a gun and light, no permit	WMA seasons and permits; year-round only on two areas	State agriculture permit needed to transport or hold
Arkansas	Not required	Allowed, day or night	Only while hunting bear, deer or elk in season; no dogs	Transport and release are illegal
Georgia	Required (except on your own or immediate family’s land)	Allowed; bait allowed	Deer and turkey seasons only; no night hunting or bait	State agriculture permit needed to transport
Alabama	Regular hunting license (usual landowner exemptions apply)	Needs the nighttime feral swine and coyote license; set season	Varies by WMA	Releasing live hogs is illegal
Louisiana	Basic hunting license	Landowner or written designee; notify the parish sheriff	Varies by WMA schedule	Check state rules before moving any hog

Texas

Texas has more wild pigs than any other state. Texas A&M’s Natural Resources Institute puts the population at more than 3 million, spread across 250 of 254 counties, causing an estimated $670 million a year in crop damage. The heaviest numbers are in East Texas and the brush country of South Texas, but you can find hogs almost anywhere with water and cover.

License: Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 42.002(c) lets the landowner, or anyone with the landowner’s permission, hunt feral hogs on private land without a hunting license. Hunter education requirements still apply, and public land requires a license.
Season and limits: no closed season and no bag limit on private land.
Night hunting: allowed, including thermal scopes, night vision and spotlights. Suppressors are legal with an approved ATF Form 4.
Live hogs: the Texas Animal Health Commission allows live pigs to move only from the property where they were trapped directly to a slaughter plant, an approved holding facility or an authorized hunting preserve.

Where to hunt: most Texas hog hunting happens on private land, through a lease, a day hunt or a guided outfitter, because so many landowners want pigs removed. TPWD public hunting lands also hold hogs; check each area’s rules. See Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Florida

Florida has wild hogs across most of the state, with some of the best hunting in the central ranch country and the river swamps of the north and Panhandle. It is one of the few states where a visitor can hunt hogs on private land without buying a license.

License: not required to hunt wild hogs on private land with the landowner’s permission.
Season and limits: year-round on private land, with no size or bag limit, either sex.
Night hunting: no permit needed to take hogs at night with a gun and a light, with landowner permission.
Dogs: allowed. Each dog must carry the owner’s name and address, and free-running hog dogs must wear remote tracking and correction collars.
Public land: hog hunting on WMAs is not year-round except on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Area and the Rolling Meadows Unit. A management area permit is usually needed, and some areas require quota permits or have daily bag limits. Most WMAs close hog hunting during spring turkey season.
Live hogs: trapped hogs cannot be released on public land. Transporting or holding live hogs requires a permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Check FWC’s wild hog page for WMA hunts, many of which run in spring and summer.

Arkansas

Hogs are concentrated in the Delta, the bottomland hardwoods along the major rivers and parts of the Ouachitas. Arkansas treats them as a nuisance species and has aggressive control programs, including temporary WMA closures for trapping and aerial work.

License: the University of Arkansas Extension summary of state law says landowners and hunters do not need an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission license to take feral hogs on private land.
Season and methods: hogs may be killed or trapped year-round, day or night, by the landowner or anyone with permission. Spotlights are allowed on private land; the Extension service recommends telling your local wildlife officer first. Dogs are legal on private land.
Public land: on WMAs, hogs may only be taken incidentally by someone hunting bear, deer or elk during an open season, with a weapon legal for that season. Dogs are not allowed for hogs on WMAs, and some areas, such as Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, prohibit hog hunting entirely.
Live hogs: selling or transporting live feral hogs is illegal, and releasing one carries fines of $1,000 to $5,000 per hog.

See AGFC’s feral hog page for current WMA closures.

Georgia

Georgia’s best hog country runs through the south and southwest: the pine plantations, peanut and cotton fields, and river swamps along the Altamaha, Ocmulgee and Flint.

License: residents 16 and older need a hunting license unless they hunt on their own or their immediate family’s land. Nonresidents need a nonresident license.
Season and methods on private land: no closed season and no bag limit. Night hunting and hunting over bait are both allowed, with any lawful weapon.
Public land: on WMAs and national forest land, hogs may only be hunted during deer or turkey seasons with that season’s weapons. There is no night hunting and no bait, and hunter orange or blaze pink is required during firearms seasons.
Live hogs: moving live feral hogs without a Georgia Department of Agriculture permit can cost $1,500 to $5,000 and up to three years of hunting privileges.

See Georgia Wildlife Resources for current WMA schedules.

Alabama

Hogs are found across most of Alabama, with high numbers in the river bottoms of the Black Belt, the Tombigbee and Alabama river systems and the southern Coastal Plain.

Daytime hunting: on privately owned and leased land, there is no closed season and no bag limit during daylight hours. A regular Alabama hunting license applies, with the usual landowner exemptions.
Night hunting: requires the nighttime feral swine and coyote hunting license, and it is allowed only on private or leased land with the owner’s permission. The license lets you use night vision, thermal optics and lights attached to firearms. The night season runs from the day after gun deer season closes until 30 minutes before archery deer season opens, plus a dogs-only night season (no firearms) from May 8 to August 30.
Bait: hunting hogs over bait on private land requires Alabama’s bait privilege license, in addition to your hunting license. Bait is prohibited on WMAs.
Live hogs: once a feral hog is captured, releasing it alive is illegal, and state officers treat live hogs in a vehicle as illegal transport.

See Outdoor Alabama’s feral swine seasons.

Louisiana

Louisiana’s hogs thrive in the Atchafalaya Basin, the bottomland swamps of the central and southern parishes, and the farm country along the Mississippi River in the northeast.

License: a basic hunting license is required. Licensed hunters may take feral hogs year-round during legal daylight shooting hours.
Night hunting: on private land, the landowner or someone with the landowner’s written permission may take hogs at night, from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, with any legal firearm, with or without lights, infrared, laser sights or night vision. You must notify the parish sheriff’s office 24 hours in advance. People with recent class three or higher wildlife violations are excluded.
Trapping: cage and corral traps need a basic hunting license; snares need a trapping license and are not recommended where bears live.
Public land: WMA hog rules vary by area and season; check each WMA’s schedule.

See LDWF’s outlaw quadruped rules.

Methods that work anywhere in the South

Stand hunting over feed or trails: where bait is legal, hogs hit a feeder on a pattern, often right at dark. Where it is not, set up over wallows, rub trees and trails between bedding cover and fields.
Spot and stalk: on big fields and pastures, glass the edges at first and last light and close the distance into the wind. Hogs see poorly but smell very well.
Night hunting with thermal: in states that allow it, thermal optics are the most effective way to find hogs in crops at night, when they feed most heavily in the summer heat.
Dogs: bay dogs and catch dogs are traditional in Florida, Louisiana and South Texas. It is fast and exciting, and it needs well-trained dogs and a plan to keep them safe.
Trapping: landowners remove the most hogs with corral traps. If your goal is fewer hogs, not a hunt, trapping beats shooting.

Safety: handling wild pork

Wild hogs can carry diseases that infect people, including swine brucellosis. Wear gloves and eye protection when field dressing, avoid contact with blood and reproductive organs, wash your hands well afterward, and cook the meat thoroughly, as the CDC advises for hunters. A meat thermometer reading of at least 160°F is a common safe target for wild pork.

Frequently asked questions

Which state is best for hog hunting?

Texas, for sheer numbers, year-round access and no license requirement on private land. Florida is the best option east of the Mississippi for the same reasons, plus its WMA hunts.

Can I hunt hogs at night?

On private land, yes, in all six states, but Alabama requires a separate nighttime license and season, and Louisiana requires the landowner’s written permission and advance notice to the sheriff. Night hunting on public land is generally prohibited.

Do I need a license to hunt hogs on private land?

Not in Texas, Florida or Arkansas when you have the landowner’s permission. In Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana you generally do, except in certain landowner cases.

Can I bring a trapped hog home alive?

Generally no. Every state here restricts or bans moving live feral hogs, because relocation is how they spread.

Keep reading

Sources

About J. Bond

J. Bond is the founder and editor of Get Out Mor. He lives in Alabama and hunts, fishes, spearfishes, and scuba dives across the Southeast and the Gulf of Mexico. His guides check season dates against state wildlife agencies and say plainly which gear picks come from his own use and which come from research and owner feedback.

Wild Hog Hunting by State: Rules and Where to Hunt in the South (2026)