Beaufort County, SC Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 14-43(a) opens by acknowledging that South Carolina Code § 47-4-160 (2024) now governs animal husbandry practices for livestock and poultry, and states that where the county ordinance conflicts with that state statute on husbandry practices, state law preempts. Beyond husbandry practices, § 14-43(b) still requires that livestock be properly housed with adequate food and water and confined within a fenced enclosure maintained well enough to keep an average animal from escaping and causing damage, accidents or injury; it is also unlawful to tie, stake or fasten livestock in any street, highway, road, alley, sidewalk, right-of-way or other public place, or in a manner giving the animal access to one.

Owners of livestock impounded under this section, or under state or federal law, are charged actual impoundment costs plus impounding and boarding fees (§ 14-43(c)). Impounded livestock is held ten days; if unclaimed, BCAS may give the animal to a willing recipient at its discretion (§ 14-43(d)). Section 14-43(e) carves out an exception for swine and other livestock kept within the corporate limits of Port Royal and Bluffton, which is governed instead by those municipalities' own zoning rules and can still be barred if it becomes a health or welfare menace; that subsection expressly controls over any other chapter 14 reference to livestock.