Feral hogs and hog hunting in Tennessee

Feral hogs in Tennessee: where they are

Tennessee's wild hogs come from two places. In the mountains, part of the bloodline is European wild boar. The National Park Service says a rancher in the early 1900s brought about two dozen pure European boar to a hunting preserve in western North Carolina, and 60 to 100 eventually escaped and bred with feral farm hogs. Their descendants spread through the mountain forests of western North Carolina and East Tennessee, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Park managers there still trap and cull roughly 275–300 hogs a year, mostly with corral traps.

Across the rest of the state, people did the spreading. Texas Parks and Wildlife, reviewing hog programs in several states, notes that Tennessee went from wild pigs in 6 counties to 70 counties between 1999 and 2011, the years when hogs were managed as a hunted species. TPWD names people moving pigs for hunting as a leading cause of range expansion.

That record is why the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) changed course in 2011. Wild hogs lost their big-game status and were reclassified as a nuisance species, "deemed destructive," with the goal of reducing them rather than growing a hunting resource. TWRA offers a reward of up to $3,500 for information leading to convictions for illegally possessing, transporting or releasing hogs.

Whether you call them wild boar, wild hogs or feral hogs in Tennessee, it's the same Sus scrofa. Our wild boar vs. feral hog guide explains the overlap.

Legal status	Nuisance species deemed destructive, not big game (since 2011)
Private land	Landowners may kill hogs year-round in daylight, no limit
Helpers	Up to 10 designees, plus 1 per 100 acres on properties over 1,000 acres
Night shooting and extra methods	Only with a TWRA Landowner Wild Hog Exemption
Public land	Designated areas only, mostly incidental to deer hunts or bear-dog hunts
Live hogs	Illegal to possess, transport or release; reward up to $3,500

Hog hunting and trapping rules in Tennessee

As of 2026, Tennessee's rules are written for removal, and they give the most room to landowners who are actually cutting numbers.

Private land

Landowners may shoot wild hogs without limit, year-round, during daylight, with any weapon legal for big or small game, and may trap with bait outside the big-game seasons. A landowner can name up to 10 designees to help, plus one more designee for every 100 acres on properties over 1,000 acres. Qualifying family members and tenants under the Farmland Owner License Exemption can help too.

For more tools, ask your TWRA regional office for a Landowner Wild Hog Exemption. It allows extra methods, such as shooting at night with a spotlight and trapping over bait year-round, including during big-game season. Enhanced exemptions are issued at the officer's discretion based on the hog damage on your property. To renew, the landowner or designees must report at the end of each year how many hogs were killed and how.

Public land

Wild hogs can be taken only on designated public areas. On several East Tennessee WMAs, among them Catoosa, Tellico Lake, Alpine Mountain and Skinner Mountain, hogs may be taken incidental to deer hunts, but each area sets how and when, so read its regulations. Hunters licensed for bear may take hogs during scheduled bear hunts where dogs are allowed. Taking hogs incidental to hunting on National Park Service land requires a permit from the Park Service.

Live hogs

It is illegal to possess, transport or release live wild hogs in Tennessee. TWRA has jurisdiction over free-ranging swine, and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture covers confined swine. Possessing or hauling a live wild-looking hog without Agriculture paperwork showing a legal captive source is prohibited. In practice, trapped hogs are killed at the trap. Our trapping guide covers corral traps, which is also how the Smokies crews do it.

Cooking wild hog, Tennessee style

Tennessee barbecue depends on where you're standing. Memphis is known for ribs, either dry-rubbed with paprika, garlic, brown sugar and black pepper, or "wet" with a sweet tomato sauce. Wild boar ribs are smaller and leaner than pork ribs, so give our St. Louis ribs a lower pit, 225–250°F (107–121°C), a vinegar spritz every hour, and pull them once they're past 160°F (71°C) and bend easily.

West Tennessee is whole-hog country, where pitmasters cook the entire animal over hardwood coals overnight. A skin-on whole wild boar fits on a backyard pit. In the mountains, a shoulder roast braised with onions and apple cider makes a Smoky Mountain Sunday dinner.

Wild boar meat delivery to Tennessee

We ship wild boar from our plant in Hubbard, Texas to every part of Tennessee — frozen, vacuum sealed and packed with dry ice. Estimated transit: 2–3 days by ground (estimate), including Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Clarksville. Orders over $199.00 ship free; smaller orders ship for a flat $39.95.

Transit is an estimate from Hubbard, TX; East Tennessee is the longest haul in the state.

Feral hogs in Tennessee: FAQ

Sources

1. TWRA — Wild hog
2. Tennessee Hunting Regulations (eRegulations) — Wild hog regulations
3. TN.gov — Tennessee's new wild hog management now in effect (2011)
4. TWRA — Public hunting areas in Tennessee
5. TPWD — Wild pigs (multi-state review incl. Tennessee county spread)
6. National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains — Wildlife management (European boar origin)
7. National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains — Non-native species
8. USDA APHIS — Feral swine distribution maps

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