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

Title 47, Chapter 2 of the South Carolina Code, the Large Wild Cats, Non-Native Bears and Great Apes Act, took effect January 1, 2018 under 2017 Act No. 86. Section 47-2-10 defines the covered animals precisely: all lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, cheetahs, snow leopards and clouded leopards of the genus Panthera; all bears not native to South Carolina and not already regulated by the state Department of Natural Resources; and all great apes, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, plus any hybrids of these species. Section 47-2-30(A) then imposes the flat statewide prohibition, reaching a person who would import into, possess, keep, purchase, have custody or control of, breed, or sell within the state, by any means, one of these animals, expressly including internet transactions.

Subsection (B) grandfathers animals lawfully possessed before January 1, 2018: the owner could keep the animal for the rest of its life, but only by registering with the animal control authority for the city or county where it is kept, paying a one-time $500 site fee plus a $100 annual per-animal fee, filing an escape contingency plan, keeping veterinary and acquisition records, and immediately reporting any escape to the animal control authority, sheriff, and police. Section 47-2-20 exempts accredited nonprofits, USDA-licensed research and exhibition facilities, veterinary hospitals, and licensed circuses from the ban, while Section 47-2-50 lets a city or county, including Horry, adopt an ordinance more restrictive than the state law. Section 47-2-70 sets the penalty at up to $1,000 or thirty days for a first offense, rising to up to $5,000 or ninety days for a second.