Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
This week, Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda talk about a new law taking effect Oct. 1 that seeks to address North Carolina’s problem with feral hogs.
Feral hogs are capable of damaging crops, fields, wildlife habitat, game lands and streams. They also are known to prey on sheep and goats.
The law prohibits the transportation of live hogs unless they an official form of identification that the State Veterinarian has approved for this purpose. Staring Oct. 1 of next year, anyone caught transporting hogs without proper identification will face civil penalties of up to $5,000 per animal.
One of the main ways feral hogs enter the state is by people bringing them here from other states and turning them loose so they can be hunted. So the law also classifies all free-ranging wild hogs as “feral swine” and provides for the taking of feral hogs as nongame animals. The immediate effect of redefining feral swine as nongame animals is to eliminate a hunting season for them, and that should help cut down on the number being brought into the state. However, the law does give the Wildlife Resource Commission permission to adopt rules prescribing hunting seasons for these animals.
Click below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss this legislation.
[Audio:http://info.ncagr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_9-13.mp3 |titles=Today’s Topic for Sept. 13]
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