I live in texas and we do not have to have any permits to hunt them. Theres just a season andyour normal hunting license covers it.I have shot a few of them before while goosehunting with a fishing guide i know. They were on the ground and we stalked up to them.I do not know many people who hunt specifically for them.He eats them but then again he eats all kinds of **** (spanish mackeral, sharks, geese) i wont eat. Most people i know shoot them for sport. But I am not expert so I am not certain to whether or not they are good eating.