Keith Lusher 10.15.25
A wild story swept across social media last week, claiming Texas game wardens arrested a 39-year-old Oregon man named Ethan McNeely below Lake Tawakoni Dam in Northeast Texas. According to the viral posts, wardens found him crouched in the woods attempting to hunt squirrels with nothing but his bare hands and teeth. The “primal predator” allegedly insisted his “God-given claws and fangs” exempted him from needing a hunting license, and that catching game “with his molars” was between him and Mother Nature.
The story had everything: a bizarre arrest, quotable defiance, and even claims he growled at officers before declaring they could “cage me but they’ll never cage my inner wolf.”
There’s just one problem. It never happened. Texas Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed the entire incident was a hoax, a piece of social media fiction that fooled millions of readers who shared it across hunting forums, Facebook groups, X, and news aggregators.
While the story may be fiction, it raises a legitimate question that any hunter might instinctively wonder about: what actually constitutes hunting in the eyes of the law?
What Constitutes Hunting in Texas?
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Chapter 1, Section 1.101, “hunt” is defined as “capture, trap, take, or kill, or an attempt to capture, trap, take, or kill.” The code further defines “take” as “collect, hook, hunt, net, shoot, or snare, by any means or device, and includes an attempt to take.”
That phrase “by any means or device” is the kicker. The law doesn’t specify firearms, bows, or traps. It’s intentionally broad, covering any method used to pursue game animals. Whether you’re using a $100,000 Purdey shotgun or your incisors, if you’re attempting to capture or kill wildlife, you’re hunting under Texas law.
Texas regulations do spell out legal means and methods for hunting specific game, restricting certain tools and techniques. But the fundamental definition of what constitutes hunting itself remains expansive. Even falconry, one of the oldest hunting methods known to humans, requires proper licensing despite using a living bird rather than modern equipment.
The Law is the Law
While Ethan McNeely and his “primal predator” defense exist only in the realm of social media fiction, Texas hunting law leaves no doubt about what would have happened had the scenario been real. No matter how creative the excuse or unconventional the method, attempting to take game without a license is illegal.
The regulations apply equally whether you’re carrying a an expensive shotgun or claiming to channel your inner Neanderthal. If you’re out there trying to take game, you’re hunting, and you need the proper license. Texas law is crystal clear on that, even if nature might not require paperwork. The viral hoax may have been entertaining, but the legal reality is straightforward.
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