Tomorrow, state wildlife officials will meet with local representatives in East Tennessee to discuss the state's current hunting regulations for feral hogs.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officials will hear from representatives in at least five East Tennessee counties: Polk, Monroe, White, McMinn and Bradley.
Those five counties have asked the state to reinstate a dedicated hunting season for feral hogs in wildlife management areas. They also want property owners to be able to choose whether to use dogs to hunt feral hogs on their own property.
All agree that feral hogs are a widespread problem in Tennessee and other southern states, and are responsible for extensive damage to agriculture and the environment.
TWRA regulations (2011) removed wild hogs from the state's big-game category. They are now considered a destructive species to be controlled by methods other than sport hunting.