Texas legalizes shooting invasive sheep from a helicopter for sport

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Barbary sheep are massive beasts with large crescent horns and a mane that drapes from the bottom of their neck to their stomachs.

Also known as aoudads, the animals are native to the mountains of northern Africa. In the 1950s, they were brought to West Texas. Seventy years later, farmers and ranchers say the sheep is an invasive species, munching up all the vegetation and competing for resources with native Texas grazers, like bighorn sheep or mule deer.

Texas lawmakers this year added aoudads to the very short list of animals hunters are allowed to shoot from helicopters for sport. Prior to this legislation, only two animals were on that list: hogs and coyotes.

“Everything has to be kept in checks and balances,” said West Texas rancher Warren Cude. “And right now, the aoudad are very similar to the feral hogs.”

The large sheep’s population has spread from Fort Stockton to the mountains of El Paso and over the plains, Cude said. Their growing numbers have made it difficult for ranchers to manage their properties effectively.

The sheep are also not known to be “fence jumpers.” In actuality, they trample fences, which can cause thousands of dollars of damage.

“It's just devastating to your management practices,” Cude said.

When the aoudad move in, they graze the area until it's deprived of all the vegetation other animals need. Nicolas Havlik, a regional resource coordinator for the state’s parks and wildlife department, said he has seen grazing lands, which have already been hit by drought for years, overgrazed by the aoudad, leaving the native wildlife to compete for resources.

Jason Sabo is a part-time resident of Fort Davis, in Jeff Davis County, which has been hit the hardest by the aoudad. He typically spends the legislative session petitioning lawmakers on the behalf of child care providers, but this year saw the need to let them know about aoudad.

He has visited Fort Davis for years, and recalls the moment when he realized the aoudad were an issue.

“I'm looking at this hillside that's covered in aoudad, and they're majestic. They're really cool creatures,” Sabo said. “But off to the side are two mule deer who are native. And the aoudad are physically displacing them.”

His property is in Olympia Crossing, which is surrounded by conservation easements that people, for decades, have spent millions of dollars to protect.

The aoudad are also able to spread diseases to other animals, and to cross breed with the bighorn sheep. Without a change, all of that conservation work is at risk.

“There aren’t really any known predators to them in West Texas,” Cude said. “A coyote is not going to take one down. The lion could take one down, but it’s going to be a fight. So they're breeding faster than you can manage them with a straight hunt.”

A U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that when done correctly, hunting hogs from helicopters has been successful at reducing populations at least by 31%. This study clarifies that hunting in this manner by professionals is key, however.

Hunting aoudad by helicopter has always been legal. However,this change will turn it into a niche hunt few can afford, said Michael McKinny, owner of the West Texas Hunt Organization, a professional hunting outfitter in the West Texas and Big Bend regions.

The cost of hunting aoudad has risen significantly since McKinny began outfitting those hunts 17 years ago, he said. Where he used to offer those hunts for $1,800, hunters are now looking at several thousand dollars, especially when the cost to provide those hunts has risen so dramatically.

“By the time you pay for a pilot, fuel, and gas for the helicopter service to go up, you’re not going to shoot babies, young rams or ewes,” McKinny said. “You’re up there for the trophy.”

Hunters will now be able to recover the aoudad’s bodies, McKinny said. They weren’t allowed to before, he said. McKinny said he doesn’t believe that it’s possible to eradicate all the aoudad, as the population is so large and spans into Mexico and New Mexico as well. But if it were to happen, hunting operations like his would lose 50-60% of their business.

Havlik believes that permitting hunting by helicopter for sport can help, but truly reducing the impact of aoudad will take a lot more than just public hunting access, he said.

Cude is optimistic about the impact of hunting aoudad by helicopter, at least for his fellow ranchers. It costs about $1,000 per hour to hire a company to hunt the aoudad by helicopter.

“If they can get some help by eliminating some of the aoudad, and not have it come out of their pockets, then that's a win-win,” Cude said.

The law goes into effect Sept. 1.

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