§ 4709. Transport, importation, possession, and stocking of wild animals; possession of wild
boar or feral swine
(a) A person shall not bring into, transport into, transport within, transport through,
or possess in the State any live wild bird or animal of any kind, including reptiles,
amphibians, or any manner of feral swine, without authorization from the Commissioner
or the Commissioner’s designee. The importation permit may be granted under rules,
requirements, or conditions that the Commissioner shall prescribe and only after the
Commissioner has made such investigation and inspection of the birds or animals as
the Commissioner may deem necessary. The Department may dispose of unlawfully possessed
or imported wildlife as it may judge best, and the State may collect treble damages
from the violator of this subsection for all expenses incurred.
(b) No person shall bring into the State from another country, state, or province wildlife
illegally taken, transported, or possessed contrary to the laws governing the country,
state, or province from which the wildlife originated.
(c) No person shall place a Vermont-issued tag on wildlife taken outside the State. No
person shall report big game in Vermont when the wildlife is taken outside the State.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Commissioner or duly authorized agents
of the Department of Fish and Wildlife from bringing into the State for the purpose
of planting, introducing, or stocking or from planting, introducing, or stocking in
the State any wild bird or animal.
(e) Any person who violates this section may be subject to the penalties set forth in
section 4518 of this title and also may be required to pay additional penalties based on reasonable mitigation
and potential economic benefit associated with commercial trade.
(f) The Commissioner may bring an action in the unit of the Criminal Division of the Superior
Court having jurisdiction over the geographical area where the offense is stated to
have occurred, or the Environmental Division of the Superior Court, to compel reasonable
mitigation and recover economic benefits for commercial collection and trade violations
under this section.
(g) Applicants shall pay a permit fee of $100.00.
(h)(1) The Commissioner shall not issue a permit under this section for the importation or
possession of the following live species, a hybrid or genetic variant of the following
species, offspring of the following species, or offspring or a hybrid of a genetically
engineered variant of the following species: feral swine, including wild boar, wild
hog, wild swine, feral pig, feral hog, old world swine, razorback, Eurasian wild boar,
or Russian wild boar (Sus scrofo Linnaeus). A feral swine is:
(A) a domestic pig that is outside of an enclosure for more than 96 hours and is free
roaming on public or private land;
(B) an animal that exhibits at least one of the following skeletal characteristics:
(i) skull characteristics of an elongated snout or sloping appearance with little or no
stop at the eye line;
(ii) a shoulder structure with a steep or predominate ridge along the back appearance,
known as a razorback;
(iii) hindquarters proportionally smaller than the forequarters lacking natural muscling
found in commercial species; or
(iv) visible tusks; or
(C) an animal that is genetically determined to be a Eurasian wild boar or Eurasian wild
boar-domestic pig hybrid as characterized with an appropriate genome-wide molecular
tool.
(2) The definition of feral swine under subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not include
feral swine collared and used by State or federal wildlife damage management entities,
such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
Wildlife Services, to determine the location of free-ranging feral swine.
(3) This subsection shall not restrict or limit the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture,
Food and Markets to regulate the importation or possession of the domestic pig as
livestock or as a domestic animal under Title 6 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.
At the request of the owner of a domestic pig that is outside of its enclosure, the
Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets may assist the owner in capturing and confining
the domestic pig. In providing assistance to the owner of a domestic pig under this
subdivision (h)(3), the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets may request support
or guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service.
(4) Any feral swine may be removed or destroyed by the Department; the Agency of Agriculture,
Food and Markets or a designee; or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services. The Department shall notify the
Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets prior to removal of or destruction of a feral
swine as defined in subdivision (h)(1)(A) of this section.
(5) The Department shall notify the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets of the disposition
of feral swine.
(6) Any person who kills a feral swine in Vermont shall report to a State game warden
and shall present the carcass to the State game warden within 24 hours.
(7) The State or its designee shall not be liable for damages or claims associated with
the removal or destruction of feral swine, provided that the actions of the State
agents or designees are reasonable. The removal or destruction of feral swine shall
be deemed reasonable where:
(A) the Department has acted in accordance with subdivision (4) of this subsection (h);
and
(B) the Department determines that the swine:
(i) is a threat to public safety;
(ii) has harmed or posed a threat to any person or domestic animal;
(iii) has damaged private or public property;
(iv) has damaged or is damaging natural resources, including wetlands; vernal pools; wildlife
and their habitats; rare and irreplaceable natural areas; or rare, threatened, or
endangered species; or
(v) the Department determines that the swine constitutes or could establish a breeding
feral swine population in Vermont. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1967, No. 46; 1973, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1983, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 13, 1984; 1991, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 25; 1997, No. 99 (Adj. Sess.), § 13; 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 45, eff. Jan. 1, 1999; 2003, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 16; 2013, No. 78, § 15, eff. June 7, 2013; 2017, No. 170 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2019, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 21; 2025, No. 47, § 15, eff. July 1, 2025.)