Yes, you can shoot a javelina in Arizona, but only under narrow conditions. During an open season you need a valid Arizona hunting license and a javelina permit-tag for the specific hunt. Outside of a season, or without a tag, shooting one is illegal unless you’re defending yourself or another person from an immediate threat, and even then you have to notify the Arizona Game and Fish Department within five days.
When Hunting a Javelina Is Legal
Arizona treats javelina as big game. Before you hunt, you need two separate purchases: a hunting license and a permit-tag.
A resident general hunting license costs $37. Non-residents can’t buy a standalone hunting license and instead pay $160 for a combination hunting and fishing license. Youth hunters of any residency can get a combination license for $5.1Arizona Game & Fish Department. Hunting Licenses
The permit-tag is separate. Resident javelina tags run about $38; non-residents pay around $115. Most tags aren’t sold over the counter. The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) issues them through a lottery-style draw with separate application windows for spring and fall seasons. The 2026 spring draw closed at 11:59 p.m. Arizona time on October 7, 2025.2Arizona Game & Fish Department. Apply Now for 2026 Spring Hunt Draw Tags that go unclaimed after the draw are sold first-come, first-served.
The annual bag limit is two javelina, but each has to come from a different hunt number under a separate permit. You can’t fill both tags in the same hunt.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Living with Javelina
Weapons depend on the hunt type. General seasons allow centerfire rifles, handguns, shotguns, muzzleloaders, and archery equipment. HAM seasons restrict you to handgun, archery, or muzzleloader. Archery-only means bows and crossbows. There are also youth-only hunts.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Living with Javelina You can’t use edible parts of any game mammal as bait, and dogs can’t be used to hunt javelina.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 17 – 17-309
Where You Can Legally Shoot
Public land across the state is generally open to hunting. Private property is off-limits unless the landowner gives you explicit permission, and landowners who want hunters to stay out have to post visible signs or notices.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code Title 17 – 17-304
One rule keeps most residential situations out of bounds. It’s illegal to fire a weapon while hunting within a quarter mile of an occupied farmhouse, residence, cabin, lodge, or other building without the owner’s or resident’s consent.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 17 – 17-309 Cities and towns can layer their own firearm-discharge restrictions on top of that.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3107 The practical result: hunting stays in rural, undeveloped areas.
Can You Shoot a Javelina on Your Own Property?
If javelina are digging up your yard, knocking over trash, or damaging landscaping, the answer is no. Killing a javelina without a valid tag and outside of an open season is illegal, and property damage alone doesn’t authorize you to shoot one.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Living with Javelina
AZGFD expects you to use non-lethal deterrents first (loud noises, hoses, vinegar spray, fencing) and to remove food attractants like pet food, fallen fruit, and accessible garbage.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Living with Javelina
The Self-Defense Exception
Arizona law lets you kill a javelina to protect yourself or another person, but only when it’s immediately necessary. The threat has to be real and present, not a judgment made after the fact.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 17-301.01
If you do shoot one in self-defense, you have to notify AZGFD within five days. You can’t keep, sell, or remove any part of the animal from the site without the department’s authorization. Skipping the report turns a lawful defensive act into an illegal kill.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 17-301.01 The after-hours dispatch line is 623-236-7201.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Living with Javelina
Depredation for Severe or Repeat Damage
When javelina are causing serious or repeated damage and non-lethal methods haven’t worked, the formal path is a written depredation complaint to the AZGFD director under ARS 17-239. The department sends a trained wildlife depredation specialist to investigate and provides technical help, which may include trapping and relocation. If those steps aren’t enough and the commission decides normal hunter harvest is impractical, it can issue a special permit letting the landowner take the animals causing the damage.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code Title 17 – 17-239 You don’t get to skip ahead to lethal force on your own. The department controls every step.
After a Legal Kill
Arizona’s wanton waste law makes it illegal to take a javelina and knowingly let the edible meat go to waste. You must salvage the hind quarters, front quarters, and loins. Meat destroyed by the shot itself doesn’t count against you.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 17 – 17-3099Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code Title 17 – 17-340 Your valid tag has to be attached to the carcass before you transport it. Moving a big game carcass without a properly attached tag is a separate violation.
Penalties for an Illegal Kill
Shooting a javelina without authorization carries both criminal and civil consequences. Knowingly taking a javelina during a closed season, or possessing one taken during a closed season, is a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 17 – 17-30910Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-707 Other violations, such as hunting without a license, using a prohibited weapon, or exceeding the bag limit, default to a class 2 misdemeanor unless the statute says otherwise. Selling or bartering illegally taken big game bumps the charge to a class 6 felony.
On top of the criminal fine, the state imposes a separate civil penalty for the loss of the animal. For a javelina, that minimum civil liability is $500.11Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 17-314
The commission can also revoke or suspend your hunting and fishing privileges. A first unlawful take can cost you up to five years of privileges; a second offense, up to ten. Wasting the edible portions of a harvested javelina is an independent basis for revocation. The firearm used in the offense may be confiscated.12Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 17-340 Between the criminal charge, the $500 civil penalty, and the multi-year loss of hunting privileges, the cost of shooting a javelina you weren’t authorized to shoot adds up quickly.