New SC hunting laws go after wild hogs, coyotesvar collab_title = 'New SC hunting laws go after wild hogs, coyotes
The Associated Press

Published: Monday, June 28, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.

COLUMBIA — Hunters in South Carolina will be able to hunt wild hogs and coyotes at night under new laws passed by the General Assembly.

Lawmakers this year also placed restrictions on using dogs to hunt deer on other people's property without permission, according to a story published Sunday by The State of Columbia.

Backers of the new laws said changes were needed because coyotes and wild hogs are rapidly becoming a nuisance in the state.

Wild hogs used to be confined to South Carolina's coast, but in the past 50 years the animals have rapidly spread as hunters trap hogs in one place and move them to new habitats so they can have additional areas to hunt.

The new laws make trapping and moving hogs illegal and allow night hunting.

Wildlife officials gave several reasons for asking for the new legislation. Hogs spread disease, can damage crops, damage stream banks and wetlands looking for food and often drive out native species in competition for meals, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Night hunting will hopefully give hunters more chances to kill hogs, which mostly move around after dark.

The new laws also allow for hunting of coyotes at night and extends the trapping season for the animals by a month. Backers of the law said coyotes are rapidly becoming a nuisance, killing chickens , goats and sheep in rural areas, and family pets where urban sprawl has spread.

Another bill passed this year clamps down on a hunting tradition of using dogs to run deer toward waiting hunters. The "Renegade Hunter Act" requires hunters to get permission before running their dogs through or on the edges of other people's property.