Feral swine; requiring permission from landowner or lessee to remove or take feral swine on certain property. Effective date.
SB 478 revises Oklahoma law governing feral swine and other nuisance wildlife control, with a focus on who may remove or kill feral swine, when that activity may occur, and what permissions are required. The bill amends the Feral Swine Control Act to require written permission from a landowner or agricultural lessee for nighttime removal or killing of feral swine on certain property, while continuing to allow daytime removal with the owner’s permission. It also repeals a separate special permit provision for private property owners related to feral swine.
The bill also updates several nuisance wildlife statutes administered by the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. It modifies rules for permits to control nuisance wildlife and depredating animals, including aircraft-based management, and clarifies that landowners, agricultural lessees, and their designated agents may control coyotes and feral swine under specified conditions. It adds or reinforces restrictions on nighttime activity during deer gun season, revocation consequences for certain violations, and makes language gender neutral and statutory references current.
SB 478 would change multiple sections of Oklahoma’s wildlife and agriculture code, primarily affecting feral swine control, nuisance wildlife permits, and enforcement authority. It narrows and clarifies permission requirements for feral swine removal on private and public property, repeals an older special permit statute, and updates permit, reporting, and penalty provisions for depredating-animal control. The bill affects landowners, agricultural lessees, designated agents, permit holders, pilots, and state agencies responsible for wildlife and agricultural enforcement.
The available legislative history shows clear support in committee, with the Senate Agriculture & Wildlife Committee voting 12-0 to do pass the committee substitute. The bill’s structure suggests a generally pro-agriculture, pro-landowner approach aimed at improving feral swine and nuisance wildlife control while adding procedural safeguards and enforcement tools. No opposing testimony or recorded floor debate is included in the provided materials, so the overall sentiment appears favorable and largely noncontroversial at the committee stage.
The main policy tension in SB 478 is between expanding practical nuisance-animal control for landowners and tightening permission and compliance requirements for nighttime activity and aircraft-based hunting. Potential points of contention include the new written-permission requirement for nighttime feral swine removal, the continued regulation of depredating-animal control by aircraft, and the bill’s penalties and permit revocation provisions. The bill also preserves restrictions during deer gun season and limits certain methods of take, which could matter to hunters, wildlife managers, and agricultural operators.