If you’ve got a hankering to go Squatchin’ then get your travel agent to book you a ticket to Oklahoma. Local newspaper The Tahlequah Daily Press brings word that District 19 State Rep. Justin Humphrey has filed a bill in the state House that would determine a window for Bigfoot hunting season in the Sooner State. The outlet notes that House Bill 1648 “would direct the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Division to establish an annual season requiring hunting licenses and fees” for the Bigfoot season, though Humphrey (whose only other claim to fame in the press is a failed anti-abortion bill) has clarified he doesn’t want the beast from folklore to be killed.
“Tourism is one of the biggest attractions we have in my House district,” Humphrey said. “Establishing an actual hunting season and issuing licenses for people who want to hunt Bigfoot will just draw more people to our already beautiful part of the state. It will be a great way for people to enjoy our area and to have some fun….A lot of people don’t believe in Bigfoot, but a lot of people do. Just like some people like to go deer hunting, while some don’t.”
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Humphrey also claimed he would work to establish a “$25,000 bounty” for anyone that captures a Bigfoot in Oklahoma, the outlet notes that the Representative “said the main goal of the bill is to promote Oklahoma’s outdoor activities and tourism,” and not in fact the capture or hunting of Sasquatches.
“Having a license and a tag would give people a way to prove they participated in the hunt,” Humphrey added. “Again, the overall goal is to get people to our area to enjoy the natural beauty and to have a great time, and if they find Bigfoot while they’re at it, well hey, that’s just an even bigger prize.”
Though Bigfoot/Sasquatches are perhaps best known for “living” in the Pacific Northwest, there have been reports of the cryptid in Oklahoma, to the point that McAlester, Oklahoma has the Honobia Bigfoot Festival which celebrates all things Bigfoot and the local culture, but has a scholarship fund that has given over $40,000 to local high school students since 2014.
Should Oklahoma’s Bigfoot bill pass the state legislature, it wouldn’t become the first in the country that has a hunting season for mythical beasts. Douglas, Wyoming issues thousands jackalope hunting licenses every year to tourists which note that the horned rabbit creature can only be hunted “on the 31st day of June, between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m.”
