Viral Video of People Laying On Restrained Alligator Prompts Bill for Higher Fines in South Carolina

In the wake of a video going viral of people sitting on top of an alligator at a mini golf course, a new bill that will fine people $500 to $1000 if they "feed, entice, or molest" an alligator has been passed in the South Carolina House.

The previous fines were much lower at $100 to $150.

The person could also face up to 30 days in prison.

"We don’t want to get anybody hurt in this state," Rep. Bill Hixon, a North Augusta Republican, said at the hearing for the bill.

The House approved the bill, H. 3538, and it will now head to the Senate.

The bill was written after a group of people were seen on social media in 2020 gathered around a restrained alligator. In the video, one person laid on top of the alligator after it had been removed from a pond on the golf course.

Lawmakers showed the video before the vote.

The alligator was being captured to be euthanized, which is state policy. Many people on social media were outraged by the video, calling it “horrible” and “heartbreaking.”

“That’s just not right,” one person wrote on Twitter about the video.

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