Email, Mark Dallas Loeffler, communications director, Texas Department of Agriculture, July 11 and Aug. 11, 2016

11:23 a.m.

I spoke with Commissioner Miller.  The comment, made in passing, was based on his recollection of a statistic from Texas Parks and Wildlife for the number of companies permitted to do these aerial takes.  He could not remember how long ago he’d picked up that information.

MDL

Mark Dallas Loeffler

Communications Director

Texas Department of Agriculture

From: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin)

Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2016 12:22 PM

To: Mark Loeffler

Subject: Helicopter hog hunting businesses, following up

Mark:

Good afternoon. I am following up for our fact check to share what we gleaned from queries to TPWD and others. I hope to complete our check today.

It looks like there are about 104 commercial-purposes AWM permits issued at this time, up 18 from 86 in 2010, the year before Miller’s proposal passed into law. We asked TPWD for its latest list of permit holders (attached). From the 104 permit-holders indicating commercial purposes, we identified less than 10 businesses clearly offering hunters a chance to fire at hogs from the air. That is, most of the current permits don’t appear to have been issued for hog hunts of the kind that Miller’s measure legalized.

Separately, leaders of a couple businesses that specialize in vending hog hunts each said there might be 20 Texas operations offering hunters a chance to fire at hogs from helicopters.

Anything else we should consider in analyzing the claim?

Thanks.

g.

W. Gardner Selby

Reporter / News

Austin American-Statesman

PolitiFact Texas

Sent: Friday, July 15, 2016 9:57 AM

To: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin)

Subject: FW: Following up

Gardner, below is the commercial vs non-commercial breakout for 2009-2015. Be aware this not a complete listing of all AWM permits, only those for which we show commercial vs noncommercial status in our system.

Also, attached is a file showing basic info for all current AWM permit holders. NOTE that in the column headed Commercial, there are three types—yes (operations/applicants identified in our system as commercial), no (operations not identified as commercial), and Null (operations for which we have no status either commercial or noncommercial).

Year           Non-commercial  Commercial

2009       26                                           82

2010       25                                           86

2011       27                                           92

2012       34                                           92

2013       26                                           100

2014       33                                           90

2015       27                                           110

3:35 p.m.

Aug. 11, 2016

In using 130, Commissioner Miller was remembering the total number of permits in 2012, the first full year of implementation.  Your numbers show it as 126 total permits, with a smaller number doing actual hog hunts.  To be fair, the number was a four year old statistic made in passing while giving a tour of his office and not in an official statement or press release.  Good Lord, I don’t expect anyone reading this would want to held to a high standard for every half-remembered number used in casual conversation!

Thanks Gardner

MDL

Mark Dallas Loeffler

Communications Director

Texas Department of Agriculture