Anyone transporting feral swine into or around the state would be fined $5,000 per animal when caught by any law enforcement, under a legislative proposal introduced last week by Rep. Stephen LaRouque (R-Kinston).

The bill - House Bill 432, "Swine in Transport/Regulate Feral Swine" - includes recommendations from the Feral Swine Study Committee, which met in 2009-2010. 

In addition to imposing a costly civil penalty for those caught transporting feral swine, the bill also:

• Reclassifies all free-ranging swine as "feral swine," (even those swine currently referred to as "wild boar")
• Defines feral swine a non-game animal, putting the taking of these animals under jurisdiction of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission
• Makes it illegal to remove a feral swine from a trap alive

The bill has the support of NCPC, NC Farm Bureau, the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.