State bill would ban coyote imports

South Carolina could institute tighter restrictions on fox pens following the introduction of a bill by Sen. Dick Elliott this week.

The legislation would seek to ban coyotes from being imported into the state or released in fox pens, which are fenced-in enclosures where hunting dogs are trained or compete to catch foxes and coyotes. The bill would also look to place regulations on where fox pens can be located and how they are regulated by the state.

"One reason we filed it, is people are bringing coyotes into this area. They are the kind of animals that have a good nose and will destroy any ground nesting birds," Elliott said. "Coyotes are not a good animal to have mixed in with other wildlife. Another reason was people were trying to get these pens permitted just a few feet from people's homes. That just shouldn't be allowed. I wouldn't want dogs running a few feet from my bedroom window."

The legislation follows a battle over the placement of a fox pen on W.G. Road outside of Loris. Residents protested the pen's placement in their community and spent several months appealing the decision of the Horry County zoning administrator and the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow the fox pen. The group eventually won the appeal, but the County Council also began looking at a zoning ordinance that would make the pens a special exception and require notification and individualized restrictions based on where they were planned in a community.

The county ordinance has gone through two readings before the council, but was removed from the agenda for further discussion before a third reading. Residents in the Loris community said the ordinance would allow the owners of the property off W.G. Road to reapply to place the pen in the planned area. Negotiations are still under way.

Elliott's bill would require 25 yards of setback from residential properties, and it would amend laws to eliminate the transfer or sale of live coyotes to hunting pens or dog owners in the state.

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources currently permits the pens and licenses to buy and sell foxes for the pens, but does not regulate fence height, distance from residential structures, operating hours or inside operations of the pens. Animal rights activists in several states and nationally have said that there are too few regulations on the pens, which exist mainly in the Southeast. There are more than 150 pens in the state and more than a dozen pens in Horry County, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Residents in the Loris community, where the fox pen debate started, said Friday that they were happy for any help regulating the placement and operations of the pens.

"I appreciate that he's doing that so much. It doesn't belong in a family neighborhood," said Marilyn Gause, whose house is next to the proposed pen site in Loris.

Elliott said the bill will likely be referred to committee before being introduced to the full Senate. If the bill doesn't make it to the docket because of the shortened session this year, Elliott said he plans to reintroduce the changes during the next session.

By Claudia Lauer

Contact CLAUDIA LAUER at 626-0301.