Texas is home to a serious feral hog problem; nearly 3.4 million at the last count ranking as the largest feral hog population in the U.S. Their numbers continue to increase due to their high reproductive potential and the lack of natural predators. The most effective means of performing hog depredation has been by use of helicopters.
Texas State Senators joined with the House on Wednesday, May 18th 2011 and agreed to aid embattled Texas ranchers in performing "Aerial Warfare" against an estimated 4 million feral hogs that are destroying crops, endangering livestock, causing over $14 million in damages around the State. Under HB 716, the legislation sponsored by Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay), landowners, or their agents, will now be allowed to rent helicopter space to hunters in order to hunt feral hogs and coyotes by air.
Hunters from all over the nation have been initiating contact with Texas landowners in order to secure valuable "hunting leases" so that they can rent a helicopter and hunt the feral hogs. This has raised serious concerns as to the future safety of the feral hog hunting program that is currently in effect throughout the State.
What does this mean for you, the landowner?
This means as a private landowner, you have the option to lease a helicopter to provide Feral Hog depredation services, and you, or your "agent" can legally sell the seat to a private hunter to subsidize the cost of the helicopter operations.
What does this mean to you, the private landowner, in regards to liability?
Simply, if YOU, the landowner, contract the helicopter and the hunter, the YOU are liable for anything that happens. This means that if a hunter accidentally shoots a person, building, cow, dog, horse, or anything of value, you the landowner can be found liable for damages as well. After all, YOU contracted the services.
What happens if the hunter accidentally shoots through a rotor blade or damages the helicopter, or worse, causes a crash with associated deaths? Who is liable? YOU, the landowner, can be held liable.
Are you willing to shoulder this liability?
Landowners from all over the state are beginning to receive telephone calls from across the nation from Billy-Bob and his would-be hunter buddies, begging to lease land so that they can get Joe-pilot and his cheap hourly rates on his helicopter to come and shoot hogs on your land.
Are you prepared to have unknown hunters and helicopter companies you know nothing about come onto your land and trust that they have YOUR best interests at heart?
Most hunters aren't willing to shoulder this responsibility and liability, so where does that leave you, the landowner? Simply put, we are here to help YOU, the landowner.
Our company is currently conducting feral hog control services to landowners across the state under Permit #M-357 from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Division.
All of our pilots undergo an intensive Low-Level Operations Course designed to teach military flight techniques and emergency procedures based upon flight modes below 50 feet and below 50 knots airspeed. No other company in the United States performs this Low-Level Operations Course, other than the US Military.
All of our company-employed shooters must also undergo an intensive Aerial Hunter Safety Course before they are allowed to perform gunner operations from any of our helicopters.
Our Aerial Hunter Safety Course was developed from years of Army Aviation and Army Special Operations experience utilizing the latest state-of-the-art weapons and optics combined with precision shooting techniques which result in a shooter who not only knows and understand the principles of firing a weapon from a moving aircraft, but the communication and safety requirements that accompany the operations.
In short, we have developed and currently employ some of the most advanced, professional and SAFE tacticians in the industry in order to perform our Aerial Hog Depredation Services.
How does this help you, the landowner?
VERTEX Aviation Group will provide a "turnkey" solution for your feral hog issues.
In early 2011, in anticipation of the passing of HB 716, VERTEX Tactical Aviation began developing a Landowner Partnership Program that will allow the landowner to designate our company as its sole exclusive "Vendor" in order to contract and perform Aerial Hog Depredation (Helicopter Hog Hunting) on behalf of the landowner. VERTEX will contract with the landowner (AT NO COST) to provide complete services, to include:
- Provide accurate, efficient Aerial Hog Depredation Services to the landowner.
- Conduct MANDATORY SAFETY TRAINING for ALL private hunters who will shoot from our aircraft.
- Conduct required TPWD and criminal background checks on ALL private hunters who will shoot from our aircraft.
- Provide bi-weekly depredation checks on the associated properties, if determined necessary by average hog counts.
- Provide the landowner with a formal Indemnification Contract, releasing the landowner from all liability as to the actions of the hunter or helicopter crews.
- Provide the landowners with a Certificate of Insurance listing the landowner as "additional Insured" in the event of a helicopter mishap that would result in any damage to land, persons, animals, or property.
To simplify this, our company contracts with you, the landowner, for the exclusive right to perform Feral Hog Depredation on your property for an initial period of 6 months with a 6 month option to renew. You agree to our services, assign us as exclusive Agent for an initial period of 6 months, provide a signed LOA (Land Owners Agreement) that we submit to the State of Texas, and we in turn provide complete Feral Hog Control for you and your land at ZERO COST, and with a FULL RELEASE of any liability.
We would like the opportunity to meet with local landowners in order to assess their individual needs in regards to Feral Hog Control and Depredation.
If you feel that our services would help you with your Feral Hog problems, please contact us at 888-352-2602 .
Our mission at VERTEX Tactical Aviation is to serve the needs of the people and businesses in our region and to serve our local communities with professionalism, excellence and trust. VERTEX Helicopters is committed to the advancement of the helicopter industry and the needs of the people who depend on our product and services.
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