Go hog hunting wild this spring and summer!
Did you know the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offers late spring and summer wild hog hunts on several wildlife management areas across the state? And you don’t even need a hunting license to participate in these great opportunities.
Wild hogs, also called wild pigs, wild boars and feral pigs, are not native to Florida but were introduced over 500 years ago by Spanish explorers. They can be found in all of Florida’s 67 counties within a wide variety of habitats, but prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes, sloughs and pine flatwoods.
Wild hogs are not protected by law as a game species but are the second most popular large animal hunted in Florida (second only to the white-tailed deer). Wild hogs can weigh more than 150 pounds and be 5-6 feet long. They eat plants and animals and feed by rooting with their broad snouts, which can damage native habitats and ground cover vegetation. It’s easy to spot where wild hogs have been because they often leave areas looking like plowed fields.
Because of their destructive nature and prolific breeding, and because hunters want more hog hunting opportunities, the FWC, along with help from other public land managers, have been establishing more hog hunts over the past few years. This spring and summer, there will be numerous hog hunts (mostly on weekends) on 22 WMAs – four of which kick off this month, with the majority of these hunts starting in May. Some offer still hog hunting during daylight hours, others are nighttime hog-dog hunts – and more than half of them offer both.
Twenty of the areas are walk-in and don’t require a quota permit. All that is needed to go hog hunting in the following areas during these listed spring and summer dates is a $26.50 management area permit, which can be purchased in Florida at county tax collectors’ offices and at most retail outlets that sell hunting/fishing supplies, and with a credit card by calling 888-HUNT-FLORIDA (486-8356) or at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.
But before you go, be sure to go online at MyFWC.com/WMAbrochures and check out the area’s regulations brochure to find out all the specific details on the hunt, including access, allowable methods of taking, hog hunting hours, rules on camping and more.
As always, have fun, hunt safely and ethically, and we’ll see ya in the woods!
North Florida
Andrews WMA
(Levy County)
Still hunting only
25 daily quota permits available each day at check station on first-come basis
May 4-6, 11-13
Apalachicola WMA Bradwell Unit
(Liberty County)
Dog hunt Still hunt
May 4-6 May 18-20
June 1-3 June 15-17
July 13-15 July 20-22
Aug. 3-5 Aug. 17-19
Sept. 7-9 Sept. 21-23
(Franklin and Gulf counties)
Dog and still hunting
May 18-20
June 15-17
July 20-22
Aug. 17-19
Sept. 21-23
Aucilla WMA
(Jefferson and Taylor counties)
Dog and still hunting
May 11-13
June 8-10
July 13-15
Aug. 10-12
Sept. 7-9
Beaverdam Creek WMA
(Liberty County)
Dog and still hunting
May 11-13
June 8-10
July 13-15
Aug. 10-12
Sept. 14-16
Blackwater WMA
(Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties)
Dog and still hunting
May 4-6, 18-20
June 1-3, 15-17
July 6-8, 20-22
Aug. 3-5, 17-19
Sept. 7-9, 21-23
(Santa Rosa County)
Dog and still hunting
May 18-20
June 15-17
July 20-22
Aug. 17-19
Sept. 21-23
Chipola River WMA
(Jackson and Calhoun counties)
Still hunting only
May 11-13
June 8-10
July 13-15
Aug. 10-12
Sept. 14-16
Escambia River WMA
(Escambia and Santa Rosa counties)
Still and dog hunting
May 11-13
June 8-10
July 13-15
Aug. 10-12
Sept. 14-16
Goethe PSGHA (see area map for boundaries)
(Levy County)
Dog and still hunting
May 18-20
June 15-17
John M. Bethea PSGHA (see area map for boundaries)
(Baker County)
Dog and still hunting
May 4-6
June 1-3
Mallory Swamp PSGHA (only in dog hunt area)
(Lafayette County)
Dog and still hunting
April 27-29
June 22-24
(Leon County)
Still hunting only
May 4-6
June 1-3
July 6-8
Aug. 3-5
Sept. 7-9
Steinhatchee Springs PSGHA (only north of U.S. 19/98/27)
(Dixie, Lafayette, and Taylor counties)
Dog and still hunting
April 27-29
June 22-24
Yellow River WMA
(Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties)
Still hunting only
July 13-15
Aug. 10-12
Sept. 7-9
Central Florida
(Osceola and Polk counties)
Still and dog hunting
Open to year-round hog hunting
Management area permit not required
Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Area Rolling Meadows Unit
(Polk County)
Still and dog hunting
Open to year-round hog hunting
Management area permit not required
Richloam WMA (only east of C.R. 471)
(Sumter and Lake counties)
Dog hunting only
April 27-29
May 25-27
June 22-24
Royce Unit – Lake Wales Ridge WEA
(Highlands County)
Still hunting only
May 5-6, 12-13
South Florida
John G. and Susan H. DuPuis Jr. WEA
(Martin County)
Still hunting only
April 14-22
May 12-20
The following are two additional WMAs that require a hog quota permit to hunt wild hogs during these listed spring and summer three-day weekends. These permits can be applied for online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.
Box-R WMA
(Franklin and Gulf counties)
Dog hunting only
May 11-13
June 8-10
July 13-15
Aug. 10-12
Sept. 14-16
Jennings Forest WMA
(Clay and Duval counties)
Still hunting only
May 4-6, 18-20
June 1-3
