Would you shoot a coyote for $1000?

Proposal could become law July 1

Would you shoot a coyote if it gave you the chance to win $1000? That prospect might become reality if a recent South Carolina budget proposal becomes law, which could happen soon.

The South Carolina House’s budget-writing panel approved the measure Tuesday. The proposal calls for the SCDNR to capture, tag, and release a minimum of 12 coyotes across the Palmetto State. Each of the tagged animals would have a bounty of $1000 or more, and the money would go into the pockets of hunters who harvest the animals and turn the tags in.

The 25-member budget-writing panel approved the proposal unanimously, but it still has to be approved by the full House and Senate. Alan Clemmons (R-Horry) co-sponsored the bill, which he said is intended as an incentive for more hunters to shoot the non-native animals who began showing up in South Carolina in the 1970s.

Currently, coyotes are in all 46 of South Carolina’s counties. Few people hunt them, and even fewer shoot any. Many hunters see them while deer hunting, but don’t take a shot at them because, among other reasons, they don’t want to spoil their chance of shooting a deer, especially if they have limited chances to hunt.

Even fewer folks hunt the animals during the spring and summer, when deer hunting is out-of-season. The chance at $1000 could change their way of thinking.

If approved, the law will take effect on July 1.