Feral swine; requiring permission from landowner or lessee to remove or take feral swine on certain property. Effective date.
Summary
SB 478 revises Oklahoma law governing the control and removal of feral swine and other nuisance wildlife. The bill requires written permission from a landowner or agricultural lessee before a person may remove or attempt to kill feral swine on certain property, including at night, and it ties nighttime feral swine removal to existing permit authority under the Wildlife Conservation statutes. It also repeals a separate special permit provision for private property owners to kill feral swine.
The bill also amends nuisance wildlife control rules more broadly. It updates permit and enforcement provisions for depredating animals, including aircraft-based management, and revises the authority of landowners, agricultural lessees, and their designated agents to control nuisance wildlife and feral swine, including use of certain lighting and night-vision tools under specified conditions. The bill makes language gender neutral, updates statutory references, and sets an effective date of November 1, 2025.
Impact
SB 478 changes multiple sections of Oklahoma statutes in Titles 2 and 29 that regulate feral swine removal, nuisance wildlife permits, and nighttime control of depredating animals. It narrows or clarifies who may act on private or public property by requiring landowner or lessee permission in certain circumstances, removes one special permit pathway, and adjusts enforcement and licensing consequences for violations. The bill affects landowners, agricultural lessees, designated agents, wildlife control permit holders, and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry and Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows clear support for the bill: the Senate passed SB 478 unanimously in committee/floor action reflected in the record, with 12 yeas and 0 nays on March 3, 2025. No committee transcript is provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate opposition or mixed sentiment. Overall, the bill appears to have been received favorably as a wildlife and agricultural management measure.
Contention
The main policy tension in SB 478 is between expanding practical nuisance-control tools for landowners and agricultural operators and imposing tighter permission and permit requirements for others. Supporters would likely view the bill as strengthening property rights and agricultural protection by clarifying who may remove feral swine and under what conditions. Potential concerns could come from wildlife managers, permit holders, or hunters who may see the new written-permission requirement, permit changes, and repeal of the special private-property permit as adding restrictions or administrative complexity. The bill also preserves limits on nighttime activity and enforcement penalties, reflecting a balance between control efforts and public-safety/wildlife-protection concerns.