South Carolina § 50-11-390 - Departmental authority over game zones.

§ 50-11-390. Departmental authority over game zones.

(A) The department may promulgate regulations to permit the taking of antlerless deer between September fifteenth and January first.

(B) In all game zones, the department may issue individual tags for antlerless deer which must be used as prescribed by the department. These tags are valid statewide, except on property receiving a Deer Quota Program permit for antlerless deer pursuant to subsection (C), and must be possessed and used only by the individual to whom they are issued.

(C) In all game zones, the department may issue Deer Quota Program permits to landowners or lessees. The department will determine the appropriate number of Deer Quota Program tags, and issue the tags for the permitted property.

(D) Deer taken pursuant to a Deer Quota Program permit must be tagged with a valid Deer Quota Program tag and reported to the electronic harvest reporting system pursuant to the provisions of Section 50-11-546. Each tag must be attached to the deer as prescribed by the department before the animal is moved from the point of kill.

(E) The department may suspend the taking of deer or revoke any Deer Quota Program permit when environmental conditions or other factors warrant.

(F) It is unlawful to take, possess, or transport deer, except as permitted by this section. A person violating the provisions of this section or the provisions for taking deer established by the department is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than fifty and not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days.

HISTORY: [Derived from former SECTION 50-11-2036 (En 1985 Act No. 68, SECTION 2)]; 1988 Act No. 561, SECTION 1; 1991 Act No. 43, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 181, SECTION 1262; 1997 Act No. 33, SECTION 3; 1997 Act No. 57, SECTION 3; 1999 Act No. 27, SECTION 1; 2010 Act No. 233, SECTION 12, eff July 1, 2010; 2016 Act No. 257 (S.454), SECTION 7, eff July 1, 2017; 2019 Act No. 19 (H.3750), SECTION 2, eff April 3, 2019; 2023 Act No. 65 (H.3538), SECTION 3, eff July 1, 2024.

Effect of Amendment

The 2010 amendment rewrote subsections (B) and (C), and made other nonsubstantive changes.

2016 Act No. 257, SECTION 7, rewrote the section, providing that the department may promulgate regulations for the taking of antlerless deer during certain periods of time, providing for the establishment of antlerless days, and providing for the regulation of the deer quota program.

2019 Act No. 19, SECTION 2, in (A), deleted the (1) identifier and deleted (2), which required the department to establish a minimum number of antlerless days in the state's game zones.

2023 Act No. 65, SECTION 3, in (D), in the first sentence, substituted "electronic harvest reporting system pursuant to the provisions of Section 50-11-546" for "department as prescribed".