Culling Feral Swine from Aircraft

Every year as I do presentations about new criminal law legislation, a smaller piece of legislation catches my eye. Invariably as I look into the legislation, I learn about the concerns that led to the legislation. An example this year is S.L. 2016-113 sec. 3 (S 770), which allows the culling of feral swine—that is, wild boar—from aircraft. At first glance, the description conjures up images of hunting parties taking to the sky to go after wild boar. That’s not what the legislation contemplates. Taking wild animals from or with the use of aircraft remains a misdemeanor under North Carolina law. See G.S. 113-191.1(b)(1); G.S. 113-135(a). The legislation adds a new statute, G.S. 113-299, creating a narrow exception from this prohibition for wildlife officers and similar federal employees. What’s behind the legislation? What does it allow? What doesn’t it allow? Background. According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (Wildlife Commission), wild boar are a problem in North Carolina. The species is not native to North Carolina or North America at all. “The wild boar did not come to North Carolina until April 1912, when hunters brought 13 European boars to a game preserve at Hooper’s Bald in Graham County.” North Carolina Wildlife Profiles: Wild Boar (N.C. Wildlife Resources Comm’n). “By 1920, approximately 100 boars had escaped into the Great Smoky Mountains.” Id. They then did what comes naturally—they bred and they spread. Given their origins, the largest concentration of wild boar is in the mountains in western North Carolina, as [...]