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| Legislation Stands Tall for South Carolina Elk and Hunters |
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| by Heidi Fillingim, Bugle Intern |
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In 2005, a 4-year-old cow elk from the 75-animal Great Smoky Mountains National Park herd made headlines by migrating to within 15 miles of the South Carolina border, a state with no elk and no law against hunting them. Had she crossed the border, her fate could have been that of two Kentucky elk that walked into Virginia and were shot by deer hunters—all perfectly legal as there is no law against shooting elk in Virginia.
Carl Walsh, the Elk Foundation’s eastern division regional chair in South Carolina, didn’t want to see the Virginia incident repeated in South Carolina. So, Walsh went straight to the state Legislature. And last May, with no opposition, Senate Bill 448 became law in South Carolina, making it illegal to hunt elk in the state.
Currently, neither South Carolina nor Virginia have plans to establish an elk herd, primarily due to a concern of chronic wasting disease and the effects elk have on farms and orchards, which occupy a majority of the land.
As for that wandering cow, she was darted and returned to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“Some will dismiss this legislation as insignificant, given that we have no herd or prospects of such in the immediate future,” said Walsh. “However, I felt that it is significant, as South Carolina has, by passing this act, shown its respect for its wildlife heritage and declared itself ready to once again become elk country.”
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