Why would someone remove your dog’s electronic collar? It may soon be illegal

Lowcountry dog owners are tracking their missing animals electronic devices only to find the collar and not the animal. One lawmaker wants to make this a crime.

H. 4611 would make it illegal for the unlawful removal of an electronic dog collar or other electronic devices placed on dogs.

Rep. Bill Hixon, the bill’s sponsor, said constituents told him and other representatives about their dogs going missing. A few instances, Hixon and other representatives heard, when someone had caught the dog and taken the collar off, killed the dog and tried to bury the electric collar, which had been chopped up, to get rid of evidence.

He said the reasons vary from dogs on unwanted property to dogs hunting deer to some people just being mean.

Whether the dogs were killed or just had their collar taken off, the intention was to ensure the owner wouldn’t find them.

Collars can range from $100 to $600. When someone destroys them, it is a financial loss.

Hixon said people have thrown the removed collars down the river. People trying to track down the dog have only found the collar floating down the river. Similar situations have happened where the collars are found at the bottom of lakes, but no dog.

“There’s some mean people out there,” Hixon said. “It’s a safety thing as far as knowing where your dogs at.”

Dogs, in many ways, are a part of families, but some dogs, specifically hunting ones, can cost upward of $15,000 to $25,000

A person who intentionally removes the collar could face a misdemeanor charge. A first offense conviction would carry a fine of no more than $500 or a 10-day prison sentence. A second offense would be a fine not more than $1,000 or or a 30-day prison sentence.

The bill was proposed in previous years, but some representatives and Senators, including Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, objected because it gave dogs more rights than property owners. However, Hixon said it has support across the aisle this year, as constituents have been coming to their representatives asking for it.

The bill passed in the environmental subcommittee and will now move to the House floor.