2019 S.C. Hunting Season Regulation Updates

2019 S.C. Regulations are now published

The 2019 – 2020 South Carolina Hunting and Fishing regulations from the Department of Natural Resources is available this week online and in print. The management of white-tailed deer in S.C. continues to evolve and the 2019 changes expand the dates when antlerless deer tags can be utilized. Another change concerning deer hunting season is the ban of deer lures and attractants for the purpose of reducing deer exposure to disease. One hunt tradition that remains unchanged is the start of dove season on Sept. 2, allowing wingshooters to enjoy Labor Day in the outdoors.

            

Each year the biologists with the SCDNR work with the S.C. General Assembly to tweak hunting and fishing regulations to address management needs. In the realm of deer harvest regulations, it took years to gather information from hunters and to assess the declining deer population data, before implementing buck limits. It is worth noting that a reduction in deer herd numbers is yielding higher quality racks on bucks, and brings better balance to the entire ecosystem regarding the carrying capacity of the land.

            

By far the biggest change for 2019 is that it is now illegal to possess any deer lure substance or material that contains excretions from a deer including urine, feces, blood, gland oil or other fluid. The reason behind this change in regulations is that natural urine products from captive deer in other states can be tainted with chronic wasting disease (CWD), which affects deer in other regions of the United States. Just because S.C. does not have CWD presently, there is no guarantee that it will stay that way, so keeping tainted products out of the woods seems prudent.

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries about dove season opening click 2018 - 2016- 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009