House approves bill easing restrictions for feral hog control, allowing vehicle hunting and drone locating on private land

Representative Clifton presented House Bill 946, a bill the clerk described as amending Title 27 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to authorize additional methods for removing invasive feral hogs. Clifton said the measure would allow residents and nonresidents to trap and kill feral hogs without a hunting or trapping license, remove the wildlife-control permit requirement for taking feral hogs, allow hunting from motor vehicles on private property without a wildlife-control permit, and permit the use of unmanned aircraft systems to locate feral hogs on private property.

"Section 1 of the bill would allow residents and nonresidents to trap and kill feral hogs without a hunting or trapping license," Clifton told the chamber, adding that he had worked with the Department of Natural Resources and that DNR supports the effort to reduce invasive hog populations.

Members asked about the scale of the problem and the bills likely effect. Representative Chaz Cannon asked whether damages to farms total about $150,000,000 annually; Clifton agreed and cited a UGA Extension estimate. Other members raised concerns about wildlife impacts, including harm to quail and turkey nests and to sea turtle nesting on coastal barrier islands. Clifton said hogs reproduce rapidly, making long-term removal difficult, and argued the bill provides tools for landowners to reduce damage.

There was no recorded floor opposition during the presentation; the committee report favoring passage was agreed to and the House passed HB 946. The transcript records the committee report's agreement and passage; the numeric vote in the transcript is garbled (reported as "1 60 63" in the record), so exact tallies should be confirmed against the official House roll.