ABILENE, Texas — Hunting season is upon us and it’s important to know where you can and can’t go. Painting a property purple means that trespassing is prohibited.

“We use purple paint here, but that originally came from the Piney Woods in East Texas… a property line would run through that dense line of trees,” said Texas Game Warden James Cummings. “You couldn’t just put a ‘No Trespassing’ sign there, so they went to the legislature, and it was a great idea to use purple paint. Purple paint means ‘No Trespassing,’ anything that says ‘No Trespassing,’ but it doesn’t actually have to be posted. If you don’t have permission to be on the property, this is still Texas. If you’re not allowed on the property, you’ll get a warning and be asked to leave.”

The purple paint on a property must be at least 20 cm long and at least 2.5 cm wide.

“Some people ask me now what I need to have on me when I have permission to enter the property,” Cummings said. “Earlier in my career, I would normally have said, ‘Hey, do you have a note’ or something like that, but now everyone has a phone, and if I enter the property, I can identify you and probably call the property owner, and they can agree or disagree with me, or they can call me and say, ‘Yes, I gave them permission,'” Cummings said.

If someone is found on a property that has a “No Trespassing” sign or is painted purple without permission, there will be consequences.

“Our normal policy is that if you have received a trespassing citation and you have to leave the property and cannot return, and the citation is on record, you will be arrested if you are found on the property again,” Cummings said.

Since pigeon season begins on September 1st, it is important to be mindful of other people’s property.

“It’s the most hunted animal in Texas,” Cummings said. “It’s the most hunted animal and it’s always very popular here. It always keeps me busy and I always enjoy talking to the people who come to hunt. What we’re seeing – and I’ve talked about this over the course of several years – is that in a lot of areas, homes are being taken away that have been hunted for 40 years. Just be respectful and considerate of each other and be considerate of the property owner. Property owners, it may be loud, but it’s only for a few hours in the morning and for a few weekends, so let’s all try to get along while that’s happening,” Cummings said.