New law changes how SC hunters have report their deer kills. Here’s what to know

If you hunt deer in South Carolina, be ready to change your harvest reporting process in the next year.

Starting at the beginning of July 2024, hunters will have to electronically report deer they’ve killed. The move follows a law that also requires hunters to electronically report turkeys through the the state’s Department of Natural Resources app. Hunters will still have to tag an animal by physically attaching a piece of double-coated paper with adhesive backing onto the animal.

Some in the hunting community are welcoming the change, while others are annoyed at the process change.

South Carolina hunters are allowed to catch and kill only certain numbers of animals each season, with varying regulations depending on the animal type and population size. Tagging and reporting the kills helps the state ensure hunters stay within their legal kill limits. Deer and turkey have limited hunting seasons, while armadillos and feral hogs can be killed at any time during the year..

Now, the state is moving toward making this process digital.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources launched an app in 2022, Go Outdoors South Carolina, as the agency’s new licensing and boat titling system. The app has multiple uses, from purchasing hunting and fishing licenses to applying for lottery hunts and registering watercraft.

The app had previously been used for only tagging turkeys, but now deer are a part of the mix too.

The primary sponsor of the bill that passed this year, Edgefield Republican Rep. Bill Hixon, said when you have something that works well, you might as well streamline it.

“It’s all about managing the population,” Hixon said. “Then you have a very healthy population of animals.”

Hixon said the bill was widely supported, although some folks who were older were not as keen to the idea of using an app, while younger hunters really liked the idea. Concerns over phones dying or not having service in remote areas have been brought to light, but the process will be streamlined over the next year, lawmakers said, and it should be easy to use.

It is unclear if more bills will come forward next year specifically regarding how other animals will be tagged, but lawmakers have said they will be looking at hunting regulations surrounding feral hogs, among a few other animals.

If a hunter does not report a deer correctly starting next July, they could face a misdemeanor and up to $25 in fines.