Tattoo Fido? That could become a crime in SC

Tattooing or piercing a pet in South Carolina soon could get you a punishment worse than a smack from a rolled-up newspaper.

A S.C. House bill calls for anyone tattooing or piercing a pet for any reason, other than identification or medical purposes, to pay up to $1,000 in fines and spend up to 30 days in prison.

A House agricultural panel will hold a hearing on the proposal Wednesday.

Rep. Todd Atwater, a Lexington Republican who sponsored the bill, said he is unaware of anyone tattooing or piercing pets in South Carolina. Wayne Brennessel, executive director for the Humane Society of South Carolina, said he has heard about isolated incidents.

Atwater said he introduced the bill after hearing from a New York lawmaker who reported pet owners in that state were tattooing and piercing hairless cats and Chihuahuas. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law banning the practice in December.

“It might not be going on here, but why allow this kind of cruelty at all in South Carolina?” Atwater said.

The S.C. bill does allow tattooing of livestock, fowl or wild animals. Pets can get permanent marks on them after having spay or neuter surgery, animal advocates say.

“The difference between that and getting a tattoo is vanity,” said Taylor Wilson, a spokeswoman for Pawmetto Lifeline, a Columbia animal shelter. “That’s not being compassionate to your animal.”

The House agriculture panel also will consider a separate bill Wednesday that would ban S.C. shelters from using carbon monoxide gas to euthanize animals. Lethal injections are considered a more humane practice.

Lawmakers and animal advocates said they are unaware of any shelters using carbon monoxide in the state.

“No one is using the ‘gas chamber,’ but there is nothing in the law that explicitly states you can’t,” Wilson said. “We want to make sure this never happens here.”

This story was originally published April 14, 2015 at 11:36 PM with the headline "Tattoo Fido? That could become a crime in SC."