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House committee advances bill to curb feral swine, allow aerial predator control and shift fee authority
Summary
The House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee advanced HB 326 (first substitute), which bans hunting of feral swine in Utah, ramps up penalties including asset seizure, authorizes narrowly scoped aerial coyote permits, and moves predator-fee setting to the agricultural and wildlife damage prevention board. The committee adopted an amendment and passed the bill unanimously.
Representative Thomas Shipp introduced House Bill 326 (first substitute) on Friday, saying the measure responds to recent feral-swine introductions and would strengthen enforcement and penalties to halt agricultural and wildlife damage. "We need to eradicate these feral swine because they can cause significant damage to crops and and folks," Shipp said, explaining the bill would bar hunting of feral swine to avoid creating an incentive to import animals for sport.
The bill includes several central provisions: it escalates enforcement and penalties tied to feral-swine possession and transport (including probable-cause seizure and impound of vehicles, trailers and other items used to move animals), authorizes aerial permits for taking coyotes from aircraft on private lands or on…
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