South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 4710 — Animal Cruelty

Last action — Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 47-1-40, RELATING TO ILL-TREATMENT OF ANIMALS GENERALLY, SO AS TO ADD EXCEPTIONS.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

55 added · 5 removed

55 line(s) added, 5 removed.

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2025-2026 Bill 4710 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
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17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 4710Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 47-1-40, RELATING TO ILL-TREATMENT OF ANIMALS GENERALLY, SO AS TO ADD EXCEPTIONS.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 47-1-40(C) of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      (C) This section does not apply to:
       (1) fowl,;
       (2) accepted animal husbandry practices of farm operations and the training of animals,;
       (3) the practice of veterinary medicine,;
       (4) agricultural practices including, but not limited to, alteration of livestock or poultry to conform with breed or other show standards, dehorning cattle within standards provided by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture,;
       (5) forestry and silvacultural practices,;
       (6) wildlife management practices, or activity authorized by Title 50, including an activity authorized by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources or an exercise designed for training dogs for hunting, if repeated contact with a dog or dogs and another animal does not occur during this training exercise;
       (7) lawful activities conducted for the primary purpose of providing food for human or animal consumption;
       (8) lawful taking of game pursuant to Title 50;
       (9) lawful scientific or medical research;
       (10) zoological operations to include exhibitions;
       (11) national or state organization-sanctioned competitions;
       (12) law enforcement duties, including dog, animal, or rabies control officer duties;
       (13) humane society operations;
       (14) private landowners protecting property;
       (15) defending against any perceived imminent threat of any injury or damage to any person, other animal, or property;
       (16) any simulated fight as part of a motion picture, video, or other digital filming or live artistic performance;
and        (17) pest control practices by a licensed pest control professional.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 17, 2025 at 01:21 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs

  2. Introduced and read first time

  3. Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs

  4. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 168 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (168)

168 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 168 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does H 4710 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 47-1-40, RELATING TO ILL-TREATMENT OF ANIMALS GENERALLY, SO AS TO ADD EXCEPTIONS.
Who sponsors H 4710?
H 4710 is sponsored by Representative James Mikell "Mike" Burns and Representative Thomas E. "Tommy" Pope.
What is the current status of H 4710?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 4710?
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