South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 1125


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               1125
Ratification Number:       641
Act Number                 560
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Licensing and regulations of privately-owned shooting preserves
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A560, R641, S1125)

AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 21, CHAPTER 11, TITLE 50, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PRIVATELY-OWNED SHOOTING PRESERVES, SO AS TO CHANGE LICENSING, REGULATORY, AND PUNISHMENT PROVISIONS; AND TO AMEND ACT 446 OF 1980, RELATING TO HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING LICENSES, BY DELETING THE SECTION WHICH STATES THAT THE ACT DOES NOT APPLY TO LICENSED SHOOTING PRESERVES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Licensing and regulations of privately-owned shooting preserves

SECTION 1. Article 21, Chapter 11, Title 50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Article 21

Licensing and Regulation of Privately-Owned

Shooting Preserves

Section 50-11-3310. The South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department may grant operating licenses for shooting preserves which are privately owned and operated under the terms and provisions as provided in this article. Shooting preserves may not be established for the purpose of extending the regular hunting seasons for native species.

Section 50-11-3320. No new preserve may be licensed by the department without the approval of the majority of the legislative delegation of the county in which such preserve is to be located.

Section 50-11-3330. The annual fee for obtaining a shooting preserve operator's license is two hundred dollars for the first one hundred acres of shooting preserve area, plus fifty dollars for each additional one hundred acres or part thereof.

Section 50-11-3350. In order to be licensed as a shooting preserve operator, the operator must own or lease a minimum of one hundred contiguous acres, including water areas. The preserve is restricted to not more than one thousand, five hundred contiguous acres. Proof of ownership or leasehold interest and accurate maps or plats identifying the proposed area must accompany all applications. Shooting preserves may be approved by the department to release pen-raised turkeys but those preserves are restricted to not less than ten thousand contiguous acres owned by the operator. Shooting preserves approved by the department to release pen-raised turkeys must apply for a permit annually and pay a fee of ten thousand dollars in lieu of the fees required by Section 50-11-3330. Nonresident big game permits are not required on those specially licensed shooting preserves.

Section 50-11-3360. Shooting preserve operators shall maintain a clearly defined boundary on which signs designating the area as a shooting preserve must be posted at intervals of one hundred fifty feet or less. Construction of a fence, as prescribed by the department, along the boundaries of the preserve may be required.

Section 50-11-3370. All state residents who hunt or shoot on shooting preserves are required to have appropriate hunting licenses and permits in accordance with wildlife laws and regulations. Nonresidents must possess a regular nonresident license and all applicable permits. When shooting a species for which the preserve is licensed a special nonresident shooting preserve permit may be used.

Section 50-11-3380. Legal shooting preserve species are:

(1) pen-raised bobwhite quail, pheasants, Chukars, and other species designated by the department; and

(2) pen-raised mallards that conform to United States Fish and Wildlife Service standards and regulations.

Section 50-11-3390. No shooting preserve may be licensed to release pen-raised ducks in Game Zones 7 and 9.

Section 50-11-3400. The shooting season is a consecutive six-month period, beginning October first and ending the following April first.

Section 50-11-3430. There is no bag limit on species designated as shooting preserve species.

Section 50-11-3470. All harvested game must be tagged before removal from a shooting preserve and the tags must remain affixed until the game is prepared for consumption. If species of game are packaged in bundles one tag is sufficient for the bundle, but the number of carcasses in the bundle must be recorded on each tag.

Section 50-11-3480. The department shall furnish no game for the stocking of any preserve provided for by this article.

Section 50-11-3481. A licensed shooting preserve operator may apply to the department for a permit to operate a quail call pen trap for the purpose of recovering any quail that are not killed. Bird dog field trials sanctioned by nationally recognized field trial associations may apply for a special field trial permit which provides for the release and shooting of designated species outside of the normal season and during the field trial event only.

Section 50-11-3482. All animals held in captivity at a shooting preserve must be confined in cages constructed of material of a strength appropriate for that particular species. The cage facility must be structurally sound and must be maintained in good repair to protect the animals from injury, to minimize the possibility of escape, and to prevent entrance by other animals.

Section 50-11-3483. Proper care must be given to all penned animals to assure:

(1) Clean water is provided as necessary.

(2) Food is wholesome, palatable, and free from contamination.

(3) Animals are provided adequate cover and bedding to assure the safety of the animals during adverse environmental conditions.

(4) Excreta are removed from cages or enclosures as often as necessary to prevent contamination of the animals.

(5) An effective program for the control of insects, parasites, and avian and mammalian pests is established and maintained.

(6) Animals with a propensity to fight or which are otherwise incompatible are kept segregated.

Section 50-11-3484. Vehicles used in transporting animals must be mechanically sound and equipped to provide adequate fresh air, when moving or stationary.

Section 50-11-3490. Each shooting preserve operator shall maintain a registration book listing names, addresses, and hunting license numbers of all hunters, the dates on which they hunted, the amount and types of game and designated shooting preserve species harvested and tag numbers affixed to each carcass or container. The operator also shall maintain a record of the number of each species of game raised or purchased and the number released and other records which the department may designate. The records may be inspected by an authorized member of the department or a person it may designate or employ at any time. Operators must furnish the department a copy of the records within sixty days after the end of the hunting season on the preserve.

Section 50-11-3500. The violation of any of the sections of this article is a misdemeanor. The manager, owner, or licensee, or any of them, of any shooting preserve provided for in this article is responsible for any violation of this article and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than fifteen days nor more than thirty days and the license of the preserve must be revoked, within the discretion of the department. The preserve is not eligible for another license during the calendar year, nor thereafter, except on terms and conditions prescribed by the department.

Section 50-11-3510. The operation of a shooting

preserve as provided for in this article without a license is a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, the operator must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more than six months."

Repeal

SECTION 2. Section 4 of Act 446 of 1980 is repealed.

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.