South Carolina · statute · S.C. Code tit. 47, ch. 3 · 48 active provisions
For the purpose of this article: (1) "Animal" is defined as provided for in Chapter 1. (2) "Animal shelter" includes any premises designated by the county or municipal governing body for the purpose of impounding, care, adoption, or euthanasia of dogs and cats held under authority of this article. (3) "Dog" includes al…
The governing body of each county or municipality in this State may enact ordinances and promulgate regulations for the care and control of dogs, cats, and other animals and to prescribe penalties for violations.
The governing body of the county or municipality is authorized to establish an animal shelter for the county or municipality for the purpose of impounding and quarantining dogs and quarantining cats and shall employ such personnel, including enforcement personnel, as may be necessary to administer the provisions of thi…
The county or municipal animal shelter personnel or governmental animal control officers shall pick up and impound or quarantine any dog running at large or quarantining any cat. To obtain release of his dog or cat, an owner or keeper must satisfy the animal shelter personnel that the dog or cat is currently inoculated…
(A) It is unlawful in any county or municipality adopting penalty provisions pursuant to the provisions of this article for any dog or cat owner or other keeper of a dog or cat to: (1) allow his dog to run at large off of property owned, rented, or controlled by him; (2) keep a vicious or unruly dog unless under restra…
(A) If an animal shelter accepts or comes into possession of a dog or cat, the shelter immediately and thoroughly must scan the dog or cat for a tatoo, any implanted microchip, or similar device, which provides evidence of ownership and, upon finding it, immediately must make a good faith effort to contact the identifi…
(A) After any animal has been quarantined pursuant to South Carolina Rabies Control Act and is unclaimed by its owner, after the animal shelter employees have made a good faith effort to contact the identified owner as required by Section 47-3-540, the animal shelter employees, unless the animal must be kept pending di…
Nothing in this article may be construed to limit the power of any municipality or county to prohibit animals from running at large, whether or not they have been inoculated as provided in this article; and nothing in this article may be construed as to limit the power of any municipality or county to regulate and cont…
(A) An animal delivered to a veterinarian, a dog kennel, a cat kennel, an animal hospital, another animal care facility, or to a person who boards domestic animals on the person's premises for a fee may be transferred to an appropriate animal shelter ten days after the date the owner failed to pick up the animal as agr…
(A) If a person is bitten or otherwise attacked by a dog while the person is in a public place or is lawfully in a private place, including the property of the dog owner or person having the dog in the person's care or keeping, the dog owner or person having the dog in the person's care or keeping is liable for the dam…
No persons shall buy, sell, receive, give away or otherwise own, control, have or keep in possession any dog commonly called "sheep-killing" and known to be such. The violation, knowingly, in any one or all respects of the foregoing prohibition shall be a misdemeanor punishable, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding…
Any person who may find any dog in the act of worrying or destroying any sheep in this State may kill such dog and such person shall not for so doing be held to answer to any action, civil or criminal.
The owner of or person having in his care or keeping any dog shall be liable to pay to the person damaged double the value of any sheep that may be killed or injured by such dog, to be recovered by action at the suit of the person damaged in any court having competent jurisdiction. In all such actions the recovery of t…
On game management areas, state-owned property and property of private landowners and leaseholders, at the request of such landowners and leaseholders, specially trained enforcement officers of the Natural Resources Enforcement Division of the Department of Natural Resources may enter on such areas and property for the…
Two enforcement officers of the Natural Resources Enforcement Division of the Department of Natural Resources from each of the state's twenty-eight law enforcement units shall be trained by the Department in the identification, capture and humane disposal of feral dogs and these officers shall have the responsibility o…
The term "animal shelter" means any place or premises kept for the care, keeping, impounding, housing or boarding of any animal, whether the premises are owned or operated by a municipality, county, private association, institution, humane organization, or any other business or corporation.
(A) Only the following methods of euthanasia may be used to kill animals impounded or quarantined in animal shelters, and the procedure applicable to the method selected must be strictly followed: (1) Sodium pentobarbital or a derivative of it by means of: (a) intravenous injection by hypodermic needle of a lethal solu…
All animal shelters are subject to the provisions of Chapter 1 of Title 47.
No person may kill any animal impounded or quarantined in an animal shelter by any means except as provided by this article. Any person who violates the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is subject to the penalty provisions in Chapter 1, Title 47 for each animal killed. The Att…
The provisions of this article do not apply to persons engaged in scientific endeavors by institutions of higher education.
As used in this article: (1) "Animal Shelter" means: (a) a facility operated by or under contract for the State or a county, a municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the State for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted dogs, cats, and other animals; (b)…
(A) A public or private animal shelter, animal control agency operated by a political subdivision of this State, humane society, or public or private rescue organization shall make provisions for the sterilization of all dogs or cats acquired from the shelter, agency, society, or rescue organization by: (1) providing s…
A person who fails to comply with Section 47-3-480(A)(2) or 47-3-480(D) must forfeit ownership of the dog(s) or cat(s) acquired from the shelter, agency, society, or rescue organization which adopted the animal to the owner. In addition to forfeiting ownership, the person who acquired the animal must pay to the shelter…
This article does not prohibit the adoption by a political subdivision of this State of shelter policies which are more stringent than the requirements of this article.
The owner of any dog or kennel may, upon payment of a fee to be determined by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (department), not to exceed five dollars a dog or twenty dollars a kennel, have his dog registered by the department and the registration number tattooed in either of the dog's ears or on any…