Florence County, SC Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Florence County Code § 6-1(d), part of Chapter 6, Animal Care and Control, makes it unlawful in the unincorporated area to sell, trade, or give away as a pet any carnivorous animal that is normally not domesticated. The section cross-references the chapter's wild animals definition, which the county's environmental services officers (ESOs) use to identify covered species. Section 6-15 defines 'wild animals' as animals commonly accepted as being wild, no matter how domesticated they may become, and the list includes alligators and crocodiles, bears, bobcats, tigers, leopards, lions and panthers, coyotes, foxes and wolves (including hybrids exceeding one-eighth wild blood with a domestic dog), porcupines, non-human primates, raccoons, skunks, venomous and constrictor snakes, venomous lizards, weasels other than ferrets, and members of the cervidae (deer) family.

The definition carries a carve-out: species are excluded from the ban wherever South Carolina state law or DHEC regulations permit the specific activity or possession, so a state-permitted exotic-animal exhibitor or licensed wildlife rehabilitator is not automatically caught by the county rule. Enforcement runs through Chapter 6's general violation scheme: an ESO who documents a first-time violation of any part of § 6-1 issues a notice of violation giving the owner 24 hours to correct it; a second violation, or a failure to correct within 24 hours, brings a summons to county magistrate's court.

00 for a second or subsequent offense, plus court costs and assessments, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. Environmental Services, not the Sheriff, is the lead enforcement agency for this section.