(a) A person commits an offense if the person recklessly:
(1) moves feral swine in a manner that is not in compliance with rules adopted by the commission under Section 161.0412 or 161.054; or
(2) as the owner or person in charge of a holding facility in which a feral swine is held, permits another to remove feral swine from the holding facility in a manner that is not in compliance with those rules.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor for each feral hog that is moved or permitted to be removed unless it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously convicted under this section, in which event the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
Citation: V.T.C.A., Agriculture Code § 161.1375.
(a) The commission may, for disease control purposes, require the registration of feral swine holding facilities.
(b) To prevent the spread of disease, the commission may require a person to register with the commission if the person confines feral swine in a holding facility for slaughter, sale, exhibition, hunting, or any other purpose specified by commission rule.
(c) Rules adopted under this section shall include registration requirements, provisions for the issuance, revocation, and renewal of a registration, disease testing, inspections, recordkeeping, construction standards, location limitations, and provisions relating to the treatment of swine in and movement of swine to or from a feral swine holding facility.
(d) Rules authorized by this section may be adopted only for disease-control purposes.
Citation: V.T.C.A., Agriculture Code § 161.0412.
(a) As a control measure, the commission by rule may regulate the movement of animals, including feral swine. The commission may restrict the intrastate movement of animals, including feral swine, even though the movement of the animals is unrestricted in interstate or international commerce. The commission may require testing, vaccination, or another epidemiologically sound procedure before or after animals are moved.
(b) The commission by rule may prohibit or regulate the movement of animals, including feral swine, into a quarantined herd, premise, or area.
(c) The commission may not adopt a rule that prohibits a person from moving animals, including feral swine, owned by that person within unquarantined contiguous lands owned or controlled by that person.
(d) On application of the owner of an animal, including a feral swine, a restriction on the movement of the animal imposed under this chapter may be modified by order of the executive director of the commission if the owner demonstrates that the restriction will result in unusual hardship for the owner. In considering an application under this section, the executive director may consider the effect of prolonged drought, inadequacy of pasturage or unusual feed supply resulting from disaster or other unforeseeable circumstances, or economic hardship.
(e) In connection with the regulation of the movement of feral swine, the commission by rule may require disease testing before movement of a feral swine from one location to another, and establish the conditions under which feral swine may be transported.
(f) The commission's authority to regulate the movement of feral swine may not interfere with the authority of the Parks and Wildlife Department to regulate the hunting or trapping of feral swine.
Citation: V.T.C.A., Agriculture Code § 161.054.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person recklessly: (1) maintains a feral swine holding facility that is not registered under Section 161.0412(,) or (2) as the owner or person in charge of a holding facility that is not registered under Section 161.0412, holds or permits another to hold a feral swine in the holding facility.
(b) Each feral swine held or permitted to be held in violation of Subsection (a)(2) constitutes a separate offense.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor unless it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously convicted under this section, in which event the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
Citation: V.T.C.A., Agriculture Code § 161.150.