COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bill increasing the penalties for bothering or feeding an alligator in South Carolina has unanimously passed the state House. The bill was prompted by a viral video of people sitting on top of a restrained alligator at a mini golf course two years ago.
The bill would allow a $500 to $1,000 fine for people who "feed, entice, or molest" an alligator. The current fines are $100 to $150. The House unanimously approved the bill, which now heads for the Senate.
The bill was written after a social media post in 2020 showed players at a Hilton Head Island mini golf course sitting on top of a restrained alligator and "riding" it after a crew had removed it from a nearby retaining pond.
At the time, the Blue Planet Society posted video of the incident, calling it "animal abuse."
"It was the biggest gator I've ever seen," island resident Daisy Bobinchuck, who assisted in the capture of the gator, told The Island Packet.
Bobinchuck said she was working on binding the animal's back legs when a handful of people started to sit on the alligator for photos. She said the massive crowd that gathered near the golf course "was totally in the way."
The alligator was later euthanized under state policy.
A screenshot of the video was shown in the House by bill supporters before the vote.
"We don't want to get anybody hurt in this state," said state Rep. Bill Hixon, a Republican from North Augusta.
