Georgetown County, SC Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Adopted by Ordinance No. 2011-29 on August 9, 2011, § 4-3 targets two related problems on Georgetown County-owned land across the unincorporated Waccamaw Neck, Murrells Inlet, Sampit and Plantersville areas: dumping unwanted pets and drawing in strays with food. Subsection (a) makes it unlawful to abandon, or place for the purpose of abandonment, any animal on or in county property. Subsection (b) separately bans placing food or items of nourishment on or in county-owned property for the purpose of feeding any stray or feral animal that is on that property or that frequents it, so a resident who regularly puts out food for a colony of strays gathering at a county boat landing, park or beach access is violating the section even without dropping the animal there first.

The county has not written a species-specific deer or waterfowl feeding ban into this chapter; the text is written to cover any stray or feral animal rather than wildlife by name, so it reaches loose dogs and cats as much as it would any other animal drawn onto county land by food. Violating either subsection is a misdemeanor. Subsection (c) sets the fine at $250 per occurrence with up to 30 days in jail, and subsection (d) gives the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office full jurisdiction to enforce the section and issue the fines.

Because the rule is written around county-owned property specifically, it does not reach feeding on private land, and enforcement concentrates on county parks, landings and beach accesses where feeding attracts nuisance animals.