41 dogs were found locked in a pen in Ridgeville, SC, ankle-deep in feces and starved beyond recognition. 10 of them were dead. What happened to their owners?

According to news reports, they were issued “citations” for neglect. Because in South Carolina, it is, bizarrely, not even a misdemeanor, let alone a felony, to neglect hunting dogs. Section 47-1-70 of the South Carolina Code of Laws states that “A person may not abandon an animal…without providing the necessities of life…adequate water…adequate food…[and] adequate shelter….A hunting dog that is positively identifiable in accordance with Section 47-3-510 or Section 47-3-530 is exempt from this section.”

Which means that the owners won't even be heading to criminal court. Because they only abused hunting dogs, after all.

This not the first case of hunting dog neglect in South Carolina, and sadly, it won’t be the last. There is no logical reason why hound mixes used for hunting activities should be exempt from the bare minimum of anti-cruelty laws. Hunting dogs feel it when they’re starved to death, just the way any other dog would. And making the “sport” more burdensome for hunters by requiring they give their dogs the bare necessities of life is the least we can do for their poor dogs, who are too often sentenced to lives in pens with little to no human interaction and no veterinary care to speak of. 

Let’s put a stop to this abhorrent exception and give hunting dogs the justice they deserve.

Photo credit: Michelle Hodkin