Bill 2988

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               2988
Ratification Number:       426
Act Number:                374
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Items relating to privately owned
                           shooting preserves

(A374, R426, H2988)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 50-11-3320, 50-11-3330, AS AMENDED, 50-11-3350, AS AMENDED, 50-11-3360, 50-11-3380, 50-11-3400, AS AMENDED, 50-11-3430, 50-11-3450, 50-11-3470, 50-11-3490, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PRIVATELY OWNED SHOOTING PRESERVES, SO AS TO CHANGE THE LICENSING APPROVAL PROCEDURE, TO MAKE PRESERVE AREA RESTRICTIONS APPLY TO PRESERVES RELEASING PEN-RAISED TURKEYS, TO INCREASE THE ANNUAL LICENSE FEE FOR THE FIRST ONE HUNDRED ACRES OF PRESERVE, TO REQUIRE FENCING OF PRESERVES ON WHICH MAMMALS ARE HUNTED, TO ADD BOBWHITE QUAIL TO SPECIES WHICH MAY BE TAKEN ON PRESERVES, TO CHANGE THE SHOOTING PRESERVE SEASON TO SIX CONSECUTIVE MONTHS BEGINNING OCTOBER FIRST INSTEAD OF SEPTEMBER FIRST, TO PROVIDE A BAG LIMIT ON BOBWHITE QUAIL ON PRESERVES, TO REQUIRE BANDING OF WATERFOWL BEFORE RELEASING, TO REQUIRE RECORDS OF TAGGED CONTAINERS, AND TO REQUIRE FURNISHING OF RECORDS TO THE WILDLIFE AND MARINE RESOURCES DEPARTMENT BY OPERATORS OF PRESERVES, TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTIONS 50-11-3481, 50-11-3482, 50-11-3483 AND 50-11-3484 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR FOWL AND ANIMAL HOLDING AND TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES AND TO REPEAL SECTIONS 50-11-3410, 50-11-3420, AND 50-11-3460 OF THE 1976 CODE RELATING TO PRIVATELY OWNED SHOOTING PRESERVES.

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

License

SECTION 1. Section 50-11-3320 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3320. Following approval of the preserve by the Department, the license shall not be issued until approved by a majority of the legislative delegation of the county where it is located."

Fee

SECTION 2. Section 50-11-3330, as last amended by Act 155 of 1981, is further amended to read:

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

Shooting preserve

SECTION 3. Section 50-11-3350, as last amended by Act 155 of 1981, is further amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3350. Shooting preserve operators must own or lease a minimum of one hundred contiguous acres, including water areas. The preserve must be restricted to not more than one thousand five hundred contiguous acres, including water areas, except that preserve operators releasing ducks only may own or lease a minimum of fifty contiguous acres, including water areas. Shooting preserves which have permits to release pen-raised turkeys must be restricted to not more than ten thousand acres with a minimum of twenty turkeys released for each one thousand acres of preserve area."

Defined boundary required

SECTION 4. Section 50-11-3360 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3360. Shooting preserve operators must maintain a clearly defined boundary on which signs designating the area as a shooting preserve must be posted at intervals of one hundred and fifty feet or less. If mammal species are hunted, the boundary must be marked in addition to posted signs by a woven wire fence at least forty-eight inches in height."

Legal shooting preserve game

SECTION 5. Section 50-11-3380 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3380. Legal shooting preserve game is:

(1) Bobwhite quail, pen-raised pheasants, Chukars and such other nonnative game species as may be designated by the Department, without regard to sex; and

(2) Pen-raised mallards and black ducks, more than two generations removed from the wild and in conformance with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service regulations.

The Department may also designate as legal shooting preserve game other types and species of game, other than those specified in items (1) and (2) of this section, which according to its judgment may be suitable for preserve hunting."

Shooting season

SECTION 6. Section 50-11-3400 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 477 of 1976, is further amended to read:

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

The executive director of the department may grant permission for the year-round hunting of nonnative species of game on any particular shooting preserve if he feels that such will not result in harm to the surrounding game and nongame species."

Bag limit

SECTION 7. Section 50-11-3430 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3430. There is no bag limit on species designated as shooting preserve species, except that bag limits for native game birds (excluding bobwhite quail) or game animals on preserves must not exceed the daily or season bag limit prescribed by law."

Waterfowl must be banded

SECTION 8. Section 50-11-3450 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3450. All waterfowl for shooting shall be banded before releasing."

Harvested game must be tagged

SECTION 9. Section 50-11-3470 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3470. All harvested game shall be tagged prior to 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 bobwhite quail in the bundle must be recorded on the tag."

Permit

SECTION 10. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 50-11-3481. A licensed shooting preserve operator who releases pen-raised quail for hunting or dog training purposes 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.

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

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

(1) Clean water must be provided as necessary;

(2) Food must be wholesome, palatable, and free from contamination;

(3) Animals must be provided adequate cover and bedding to assure the safety of the animals during adverse environmental conditions;

(4) Excreta must be removed from cages or enclosures as often as necessary to prevent contamination of the animals;

(5) An effective program for the control of insects, ectoparasites, and avian and mammalian pests must be established and maintained;

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

Section 50-11-3484. Vehicles used in transporting animals must be mechanically sound and equipped to provide adequate fresh air, both when moving and stationary, without injurious drafts or discomfort, to all animals being transported."

Registration book required

SECTION 11. Section 50-11-3490 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 50-11-3490. Each shooting preserve operator must maintain a registration book listing names, addresses, and hunting license numbers of all hunters, the dates on which they hunted, the amount of game and species harvested and tag numbers affixed to each carcass or container. The operator must also 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 such person as 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 such preserve."

Repeal

SECTION 12. Sections 50-11-3410, 50-11-3420 and 50-11-3460 are repealed.

Time effective

SECTION 13. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.