Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
When it comes to animal welfare, Barnwell County is in a state of emergency.
Rescues across the nation are at capacity and are barely accepting dogs from regions in the rural south, solely because there are just too many. The impact of this on our local shelter is dire - a facility with 24 kennels holding sometimes upwards of 60 dogs, constant intake, foster families keeping dogs in their care for years, and high rates of euthanasia.
Encouraging the community to spay and neuter their animals does not seem to be working, resulting in dogs running the streets or winding up at the shelter to be cared for or killed with taxpayer dollars.
At municipal meetings throughout 2024, residents have expressed concerns about stray dogs, unleashed dogs, or packs of loose dogs running on their property, chasing their cats, and making them feel uneasy.
I understand the frustration, especially when it boils down to owner negligence. These dogs are not asking to be bred and forgotten, left to their own devices and surviving off the street. A person’s poor decision making left them there, and now they are labeled as the problem for merely trying to exist.
Local laws and codes are in place for a reason to hold these people accountable – however, they are rarely strong enough to actually get to the root of the issue and curb some of these community concerns. A lack of these laws does not only impact the animals who have no voice in the matter, but it allows negligent owners to get away with what they want like letting their animals run wild and terrorize the neighborhood.
Some think the solution is to just shoot the loose or stray dogs. However, aside from being illegal, all that does is create a pile of dead dogs and owners who will just breed more to replace them.
Breeding registrations, general licensing, and mandatory rabies vaccines are all requirements to own animals in northern states. I had to register my dog with the county and town, and show proof that he was vaccinated, neutered, and received veterinarian care when we lived on Long Island, N.Y. You cannot breed dogs solely for profit or just for fun, because counties and towns want to avoid the evident toll overpopulation takes on a community.
Road crews shouldn’t have to spend their time picking up dead dogs from the side of the road, school buses shouldn’t have to dodge stray dogs on the morning route, and kind-hearted volunteers shouldn’t be constantly tasked with corralling malnourished puppies in parking lots.
It starts with local governments and councils hiring code enforcement officers and giving them codes they can actually enforce. Evidently fines, citations, and warnings for negligent owners and breeders are not doing the trick. That neighbor you have that will not pen up their dogs, or just keeps breeding them, might reconsider if the consequence is more than a piece of paper.
If you’ve been following my coverage over the past two years of animal welfare in the county, you’d remember the battle local advocates had with Barnwell County Council when revamping the county’s animal ordinance, or when two women were attacked by a pack of loose dogs after months of community concerns being expressed. After this incident, an animal control officer was officially hired and animal welfare ordinances began to be taken seriously in the city – but it took a traumatic event and two women’s lives being changed forever for it to happen.
Thankfully, things are shifting. The county now has a stronger ordinance, and, for the first time in a long time, the powers that be are understanding the benefits a functioning shelter and solid animal welfare laws have in the community. Benefits are not only safer streets, but better public health and a higher chance of economic growth.
Like everything, it starts with us. I urge you to speak up. Join the advocacy work already being done. Say something to that person you know whose dog runs wild, or that neighbor who won’t stop breeding. Educate them about the importance of spay and neuter, tell them of the low-cost programs, and the laws already in place. Remind them that the shelter is constantly over capacity. Tell them puppies are being bred faster than they can ever be saved. If anything, ask them to think of the shelter employee who has to make that hard decision – what dogs are going to be killed today to make room for your unwanted litter?
STATE: S.C. Code of Laws, Title 47, Chapter 3: Animals, Livestock, & Poultry
COUNTY: Code of Ordinances, Ordinance 2022-11-398
CITY OF BARNWELL: Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4: Animals
WILLISTON: Code of Ordinances, Chapter 14: Animals
BLACKVILLE: Code of Ordinances, Chapter 3: Animals (not available online)
