Any of our members from Texas? I Have a non profit idea, and i need help.

Hi,
I am hoping to get others from Texas to help me research a idea i have to solve 2 problems at once.

As we all know Texas is over run with wild pigs. So bad that the state has lowered many hunting rules to allow for them to be
hunted year round with very limited restrictions.
East Texas from what i am told is infested.
There are a few other states i am thinking of checking into as well. But to start things, i am going to focus on one state.

My plan is "Hogs for the Hungry".
I need info on land owners that allow hunting on their property, i have found some but most of them charge to hunt hogs and limit it to 1 or 2 per hunt.
My idea is to gather a few people from here in Montana, take a drive down there and drop several hogs, gut, clean pack in ice in the back of the truck, once truck bed is full, or trailer depending on how we do it.
Then bring the meat back here, smoke and sell some to cover cost of the trip, and give the rest away to the hungry and poor here.
This has major implications , and could be taken nation wide in time. Spreading free meat coast to coast for those in need.
In the economy we have, money is tight, and often food gets cut, or changed to cheaper meals.

First i need to find a few people who live in Texas and now land owners, or would be willing to talk to them, to get permission to hunt hogs.
Then i need help on the laws of Texas on transporting meat from there to here.
I may have to invest in a 12v freezer for the back of the truck, its hard to tell exactly what things will end up being, but for the first run or two i am trying to get it as cheap as i can. Once established and set up as a non profit, then i can get donations from local companies to upgrade equipment and truck.
I know here when we hunt, we have out of state hunters that come in for the Elk and Moose, and fill their tags and take the animal home with no specific requirements over state lines.
I need to know the ins and outs, which most land owners could help with their knowledge.
But if for our first run, we could fill the back of a truck with 10 or 20 hogs, bring back, process, and distribute, we could help many.
On my end id have to pick up a few more chest freezers, but that is not hard to do. I have room for the first trip in the freezers i have.

Anyone interested in jumping in and lending a helping hand researching to help many many others to good nutrition?

Thanks for the input.
I believe this is a 2 fold benefit, one, we cut the population down of wild hogs, helping the land owners out, and two we feed others
who may not have the funds to afford meat.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to ask any questions, or message me.

Before starting out with your 501[c]3, check with the Texas Dept of Health about game meat transfer.

A very honorable idea but Texas regulation about the distribution of food equals that of Cali and NY.

www.dshs.state.tx.us...

Good luck!!!

a reply to: olaru12

Thank you, info like that is exactly what i was digging for but did not know where it would be kept.
Hmmmm looks like this is going to take some studying and learning.
Had no idea texas was so strict on transporting meat.

Any and all input is welcome.


I am not going to mess with the 501c until i get at least one trip in and have everything figured out.
Even if things go as planed there could be surprise loop holes that jump up.
I figure at least one trip and load of hog meat before going to all the work of a 501c

a reply to: severdsoul

It's been a few years, but there is a little town North of Haskell, where the farmers were paying to have the hogs removed. While I was there, they were shooting them out of helicopters. Dude shot one after it ran over the property lines and got into a world of trouble, as it was only legal at that time of year on the farmer's property.

The farmer I met up there, was out at 3AM lighting barrels to keep the hogs from eating his cabbages. He told me they would start at a row and eat everything to the end.

Good luck

Four words. ATS Annual Hog Hunt..... for charity ya know

This year we'll hold it in texas, next louisana, then new mexico. or however it goes down.

BYOG

sounds great, sorry I can't make it.

a reply to: ChefSlug

Sluggers Man Hams:

Ingredients:

1 Slice of ham

Three stage breading process.

One bowl scrambled egg uncooked

One bowl flour

One bowl bread crumbs

VEgetable Oil

Instructions:

Per, each slice of ham.. bread. fry. serve.

Breading Process:

dip ham in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs

Frying Process:

heat vegetable oil twice the depth of slices to 300 degrees

dip slices in oil until golden brown

remove with tongs

Serving Process:

put on plate

accompany with knife and fork, preferably knife used to kill hog..

that was worth it. but it could have used some mustard.

a reply to: severdsoul

This is what the locals use to hunt with. (North of Haskell, TX)





Along roads like this. Be careful, this road turns to silty clay, which will bury a 2wd , leaving you stuck 1 mile from the main road, which is miles from anywhere.

a reply to: ogbert

Hmm north is Mundy and Knox city according to Google Earth.
If they were paying people, they would not argue for free that is for sure.
Thanks for the tip , i'll do some digging and see what i can come up with.

a reply to: ogbert

Not a bad idea, set it up so anyone who wants to hunt can come along. even work out a way to raise funds to help cover the travel cost.

Nice setups would be easy to spot and shoot from on top of those.

Ya, i remember the clay from when i lived in Tx and GA growing up. Stuff is crazy when it gets water.
2wd is not a issue though, here in montana, very few have 2wd trucks. if its not a 4wd its not worth buying,
esp hunting up here in the mountains where a lot of the time you are pushing the snow out of the trail with the front and hood of the truck. no way id take a 2wd in the hills here, the old logging roads are nothing fancy, but the trails that go off from them are hardly enough to call a road, 4wd is a must.

Never know, things may change in time and if i can get it up and going, you may be able to join us one day.
im in no shape health wise got a surprise diagnosis 4 years ago, since then life has changed for me in a big way.
Docs said i should of been dead last year, but so far im beating the odds, and working on ideas to help others.
Who knows what time i have left or how i will be doing, but not going to let health keep me caged up, i am going to live each day and do my best to make the world a little better place.
One step at a time. I have a few projects i am working on, one is getting land and building mini houses for the homeless, i hope to end homelessness in montana in 5 years. Who knows if i will reach that goal, but its one i have set for my self.
my other is i am starting a small at home paint shop , do graphics on bikes, cars, what not. the kind you see in magazines, skulls real flames, something to release my creative side while paying for its self. Still have to save up some cash to order the paint i need, which is not cheap, then i will start advertising around here.
I am planing on eventually combining all of them into one, and hopefully teach the ones who live in the tiny village how to paint, thus giving them a job and a future.
One step at a time, one day at a time. Big goals, but one needs goals to accomplish things.

Live for today, for no one is promised tomorrow..

a reply to: severdsoul

I can't find the name of the town. I remember leaving Haskell and there was a state rest stop; and, it seemed like the town was the next one up. There was a motel that was very pricey and dusty, for what you get. There were hunters there, staying by the week.


Anyway, there are a lot of farms in the wholw area with hog problems. Best to you. i have a friend, who was supposed to not be able to live if he left the hospital. Over two years now; and, he is living each day as if it were his last.

a reply to: severdsoul

Found it. It was Haskell TX, just a little east.

Map

Anyone, or maybe the local sheriff can tell you who needs help.

a reply to: severdsoul

Your first problem: you cannot sell for consumption meat lacking the proper USDA stamps. Further, you cannot store uncertified meat in a location where it can cross contaminate stamped meat.

Pork....you can eat medium rare pork chops if you buy USDA certified meat. Trichinosis has been eradicated in farm pork populations. Wild hog....i am unsure how you can get it certified.

Wild hogs are not anywhere near the size of farm swine. When hunting them, you have to let the smaller hogs pass (and there will be a whole bunch of them). They run in packs, and the bigger hogs always enter a feed last, after the young ones have made sure its safe. The larger hogs will typically be no bigger than 150lbs. At that rate, you could likely fit far more than 20 in a load.

If you are paying to hunt, you are going about it wrong. For profit ranches charge to hunt. Farmers with a pest problem....that shouldn't cost you. Matter of fact, you can make money trapping wild hogs from problem packs, and then letting folks hunt them after you release them on your lease. I hunt a ranch in Trent, TX that does that.

There are not a whole lot of hogs running wild that will give you the amount of meat you are looking for on a consistent basis. Your best bet is to trap younger hogs, and prepare them for slaughter.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Thanks for the advice.
I have email's going to state of texas, as well as montana and usda to get info on
how the meat has to be stored, taken, approved.
I have to agree, it was a great idea, but it is looking like a very steep hill to
climb to make it happen.
But who knows, i'll play it out and see what happens.

Haskell , thanks for the name. I will do some research and check around there and see
what i can come up with.
IF i can pass all the requirements and meet all the legal needs, i may just track down the
local paper and run a add for a month and see what happens.

Hmm trapping and raising them to butcher is not a bad idea, would have to lease some land
around here to do it. But has potential as well.

So far its just a idea, one that seems to fill a need on both ends.
But we shall see if its a reality.

Thanks to everyone for the great input. One reason i love this site.

a reply to: severdsoul

If you are looking to shoot hogs and process yourself for your own family and friends, you shouldn't have very much trouble.
If you're looking to make money off the hogs to pay for your trip, you'll need to trap them and sell to an Approved Holding Facility alive.
If you' want to kill them and then sell the meat, you're looking at about $500k just for equipment.
There are non-profits here in Texas that will take you on a hog hunt. If you're looking to help out some less fortunate folks, have a good time and contribute to the effort of reducing the damage of feral swine; I thinks this may be your best option at least for your first trip. You would also have someone who is doing exactly what you're talking about to pick their brain and possibly not make as many mistakes.

hogsforacause.org
Hogsgonewild.com
Look up hogs gone wild Nacadoches on Facebook, they post the prices they pay
Btw that's in East Texas

a reply to: severdsoul

This thread is how I found this forum. I joined because I wanted to give some advise. After posting, I read a few a of the guidelines and rules and was surprised. I still don't know how the ranking system works, but I noticed there is a star afterward so I'm assuming someone reads and rates all of the posts as to the quality and relation of content.

I've already done most of the research you're requesting with the least being on the non-profit organization.

Since I was late in finding this thread, I'm skeptical if anyone will continue the discussion in a short time frame.

I'll be happy to answer your questions, if you have any that are new or unsolved.

A little background on the business side:
A friend of mine (has passed now) started trapping hogs for a business around 2000. He always had 10-15 whenever I came over. Last time I saw him he had given up because he said there wasn't enough money coming from the hogs. A few years after he died I went by his place and started thinking if I could make it work. After my research, I've concluded that you have to trap several at a time with a remote controlled device in order to make it profitable or have a trap with one way access so large that the hogs can survive for long periods of time before removing them.
I'll post again with hard facts after I see you're still interested and responding.