IOP Police to present ordinance that would ban feeding wild animals on island

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD)- Isle of Palms city council members are considering new rules for interacting with wildlife.

It comes as some residents are concerned that people feeding wild animals is making the animals less afraid of humans, and could lead to an unwanted or even dangerous encounter.

Ryan Killian lives off of 34th Avenue on the Isle of Palms, and spoke in front of council last week about the issues he’s had with raccoons on his property.

“Causing tons of damage. It happened throughout our entire home renovation. We had the contractors having to chase them away. We had to redo sheeting and floorboards,” Killian said.

He believes the raccoons were spending time in the area because his neighbors were feeding the raccoons on a daily basis.

“On the surface seemed very innocent, raccoons are cute. We completely understand. Our kids love looking at them, but unfortunately, it draws them in very close and causes them to treat the neighboring property as a toilet,” Killian said.

Killian says he reported the issue to the Isle of Palms police after the neighbors refused to quit feeding them.

Now police chief Kevin Cornett is hoping to get an ordinance passed that would ban feeding certain wildlife on IOP, like raccoons and coyotes, which have been a major problem on the island with several dog attacks reported.

“Once wildlife starts to interact, they start to lose that fear of people and that could decrease the safety of the people they’re around,” Chief Cornett said.

Chief Cornett says the ordinance isn’t just to protect people and pets, but it benefits the wild animals as well.

“It also could teach a wild animal that they don’t have to go forge and hunt for food which could be detrimental to their health,” Chief Cornett said.

Council member Blair Hahn says he doesn’t think feeding wildlife should be completely banned, but says he’s open to finding a balanced answer on the issue.

“The balance at this stage is for council to discuss it and for all of the opinions to be put on the table so we can address the issue in a proper manner,” Hahn said.

The first reading of the ordinance is Tuesday night during the city council meeting.