Will ban hunting hogs with night-vision?
A bill about dog-hunting stirred up quite the ruckus among Mississippi hunters this week. Representative Justin Keen (R-Outlaw Raceway) filed HB #828. Posted below is the text of the short bill. Fire away in the comments.
SECTION 2. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and subject to federal law and/or regulations, it is unlawful to hunt, trap, or take, or attempt to hunt, trap, or take, any game or furbearing animal that is damaging crops or personal property without obtaining a depredation permit, along with a valid hunting license.
(2) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall promulgate all rules and regulations that are necessary for the implementation of Sections 3 and 4 of this act.
SECTION 3. The following requirements apply with respect to depredation permits:
(a) Except as otherwise provided, a landowner who possesses a valid hunting license, or his or her designees who possess a valid hunting license, in addition to a depredation permit, may be approved by the department to use any of the following methods to control nuisance wildlife:
(i) Any trapping method authorized for use in the applicable fur-trapping season.
(ii) Body-gripping traps with jaw spreads of up to ten (10) inches may be used inside buildings.
(iii) Cage-style live traps may be used.
(iv) Traps set outdoors must be marked.
(v) Firearms may be used day or night if specifically approved by the Commission.
(b) Such landowner or his or her designees shall not use any of the following methods to control nuisance wildlife:
(i) Suppression devices and/or cans; or
(ii) Thermal and night vision scopes.
(c) Persons whose hunting and/or trapping privileges have been revoked are not eligible for a depredation permit.
SECTION 4. Hunting with dogs is authorized only on private property that is comprised of a minimum of two thousand (2,000) contiguous acres, regardless of whether the property is owned by one or more property owners.
SECTION 5. Section 49-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-1-39. Except as otherwise provided in Section 2 of this act, the commission may issue permits to kill any species of animals or native, nonmigratory birds which may become injurious to agricultural or other interests in any particular community. All migratory birds, including hawks, owls, and eagles and their nests and eggs are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and federal regulations promulgated under the act. All species of blackbirds, cowbirds, starlings, crows, grackles, and English sparrows may be killed without a permit when such birds are committing or about to commit depredations on shade or ornamental trees or agricultural crops.
SECTION 6. Section 49-7-31.5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-31.5. (1) The hunting, trapping and taking of nuisance animals shall be regulated by the commission. The commission may adopt regulations to regulate the hunting, trapping and taking of nuisance animals and to control the population of nuisance animals.
(2) (a) Landowners, agricultural leaseholders or their designated agents may take predatory and nuisance animals year-round on lands owned or leased by them.
(b) Landowners, agricultural leaseholders or their designated agents may take nuisance animals with any type of weapon and may take nuisance animals during the night after legal hunting hours on lands owned or leased by them with a permit issued by the department.
(c) No license is required for a resident landowner hunting or trapping nuisance animals on his own land. An agricultural leaseholder, designated agent and any other person must possess either an all-game hunting license or trapping license, unless otherwise exempt.
(d) No license is required for a recipient of the Purple Heart Medal for wounds suffered in combat, to hunt nuisance animals on private lands. Persons exempt from purchasing a hunting license under this paragraph shall have in their possession and on their person a copy of their DD-214 discharge form indicating the receipt of the Purple Heart Medal and any proof as may be required by the commission or the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, while engaged in such activities.
(3) The taking of any animal or animals other than nuisance animals by the use of a trap or traps is unlawful except during the time the season is open for the taking of fur-bearing animals.
(4) Nuisance animals may be run, chased or pursued with dogs, except as provided in Section 49-7-32, year-round by licensed hunters.
(5) Nuisance animals may be hunted with the aid of electronic calls.
(6) Nuisance animals may be hunted or trapped with the aid of bait and lures, on private lands, according to regulations adopted by the commission.
(7) Any part of a nuisance animal may be bought and sold year-round.
(8) (a) Wild hogs may not be caught or trapped and released into the wild at a location different from the location where the wild hog was caught or trapped, or otherwise transported live in the State of Mississippi.
(b) A violation of this subsection is a Class I violation and is punishable as provided under Section 49-7-141.
(9) When hunting wild hogs during any open gun season on deer, a hunter must wear in full view at least five hundred (500) square inches of solid unbroken fluorescent orange or solid unbroken fluorescent pink.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
38 comments:
I’m not going to read all of that but I am assuming this is more related to people hunting hogs with dogs. A lot of footage circulating online of dogs hunting hogs and it is violent and gory. And the dogs usually end up dead. Although I have to admit it is quite satisfying to see a big lone male boar hog absolutely destroy a pack of shitbulls!
Justin Keen is an absolute waste in the legislature. He drafted the dumb bounty hunting bill last year and is a complete joke to our party. This is also a dumb bill.
Lord help me, I despise legislators.
Aren't there three other legislators that signed their names to this?
It's one thing to be like this.
It's weholly another thing to sign that you agree with this guy. Or sign before you read and understand what you are signing?
Name the co-sponsors of this bill.
back in the 70s attempts to ban deer hunting with dogs was always the biggest issue of the session.
Looks like MDWFP is trying to raise money for itself by regulating more outdoor activities that it does not charge for and control now. Restriction of landowner/lessor rights are included in this attempt as well. As far as dog hunting, its just shade for what they are really after.
Sounds like a spoiled rich guy, acreage is pulled out of his keister to eliminate the majority of landowners and hunting clubs. Is he selling these club memberships?
And the silencer issue, we've managed to control noise pollution from every tool, appliance and engine around us but we want to limit noise suppression on guns? Quite frankly I'm tired of the gun noise and think we should provide noise suppression for everything above a 22LR.
And finally, WHY are they trying to limit elimination of nuisance animals so hard, again is he selling membership to hog hunting clubs?
What an idiotic and goofy bill.
I'm much more concerned with the ban on suppressors and night optics for otherwise legal hunting.
Am I missing something. This appears to not only ban(basically) deer hunting with dogs, but also quail hunting with bird dogs, squirrel hunting with dogs, coon hunting with dogs, and surely not duck hunting with my best friend and faithful companion black lab. There will be many many violators. Including me. This is a poorly written bill. The authors should be ashamed.
Name the co-sponsors of this bill.
What's stopping you?
If more people actually paid attention to what really goes on in the Legislature, None of them should be re-elected next year!
Apologies, apparently Keen dropped this all by himself.
Andy Gipson does not like this bill, not one bit!
I’ll be the first to say deer dog hunters are some of the worst sort of trespassing trash out there, especially in the age of geofence correction GPS collars easily available for purchase. What is the deal with no suppressors and thermal for hog killing? It’s not like fair chase is a consideration for pest control.
There will be many many violators. Including me.
Not if you don't do what's to be prohibited.
You shouldn’t call yourself a deer hunter if you hunt them with dogs. Also, dog hunters are a HUGE headache for land management agencies in the state, such as the Forest Service with 1.2 million acres here. This bill, though poorly written, will at least solve that problem. It will also force dog hunters to finally learn to deer hunt.
Not that it's illegal to BE one, but I've never known a person who hunts with dogs who is not a redneck. They're a special breed, each one having at least one close family member addicted to meth.
I’ll second that. Those of us in rural areas despise the deer dog hunters. They set them out from roads and shoot from roads.
The relevant parts are bolded just to make it easier for YOU.
Interesting that during Feel Brant's entire time in the Gub's chair, they never made it illegal to shoot caged, clip-winged pheasants up around Louisville.
"clipped wing pheasants"
Laughing my ass off.
I doubt 7:26 has ever toured a basic chicken processing plant in Mississippi.
What an idiotic bill. I’m an avid hunter. I don’t use dogs to hunt anything but I find this bill to be stupid and self-serving. With all the real problems needing legislative attention, this comes up? Give me a break. Terrible.
@4:56, agreed. +1 Upvote. Nuisance critter eradication efforts need FEWER restrictions.
@5:07, it does seem to read that way.
What about plain ole pest control?? Raccoons, possums...rats, feral cats, etc. How will this effect private citizens and PC services removing those? All can carry disease and cause destruction.
6:48 Obviously you’re a genius.
All you people complaining about deer dog hunters need to realize this applies to ALL hunting with dogs. Squirrels rabbits coons quail ducks. If it was aimed at deer dog hunters, it missed.
Representatives Justin Keen (R-6),
W.I. "Doc" Harris (R-106), and
Joseph Tubb (R-112)
I think you are right.
What's going on with this bill's history?
There is a screenshot posted on Facebook (posted on January 21) that shows KEEN as HB 828's principal author and HARRIS and TUBB as additional authors. Which wouldn't be the strangest thing as they all are from the Memphis metropolis.
Link to screenshot on facebook with HARRIS and TUBBS as additional authors of HB 828: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=25289052957443960&set=gm.4282307428705440&idorvanity=3732082933727895
Yet when I looked at Bill Tracker yesterday it showed only KEEN as the principal author.
Just now I went back to Bill Tracker and It still shows only KEEN as an author. It also says:
Information pertaining to this measure was last updated on 01/23/2026 at 08:53
So did HARRIS and TUBB decide it got too hot with turd of a half baked bill and they ran for the hills? Or was it something else?
Reading only the bolded parts is not the way to understand what this bill does.
OOoooh Yessss GOVERN ME HARDER DADDY!! 🙄🙄
Asked no one ever!
We don't hunt chickens with shotguns. A clipped-winged game bird will, when released from a pen, fly about forty feet at an altitude of 9 feet and then, if not shot, hit the ground. But, I think it's quail up in Louisville, not pheasants. Pheasants are high dollar 'clippers' released in other areas of Murica.
Whatever it takes to do away with the meth head deer-dog hunters! They use it as an excuse to go all over properties and hunt from roads. They never kill decent bucks. They stir up everything damn thing around just for a beagle to bark at and chase a spike around for miles. There’s a guy close to our place that has 150 acres and runs dogs most every day of season. Never kills shit.
Some government officials think there have to pass a law about everything. I will not be surprised if one day we will have to have a breathing permit, carried on one’s person at all times.
Would have been fine if it was strictly limited to hunting deer with dogs during deer hunting season. Way too overbroad as written. Trash sport that revolves almost entirely around willful trespassing and poaching. Whacking and stacking everything that’s brown, no real attempt to age bucks and allow them to pass to their full potential/maturity
This will be easily overturned as unconstitutional, if passed.
First thing y'all know I can't accidentally throw corn out around my pond during dove season. It's for my ducks.
1:13, your comment captures the essence of dog hunting about as succinctly as possible.
What other laws have controlled the meth head thieves and drug sellers?
There are already more than plenty of laws against stealing, selling stolen good, selling meth and all the other meth head crimes. These laws are generally unenforced against the meth heads.
The only thing another law does is control evryone but the real meth head criminals.
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