COLUMBIA, S.C. — The start of the deer hunting season has come with frustration for some who say they've been waiting for tags needed to harvest the animal.
News19 reached out to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) which said they typically process around 150,000 tags and are asking for patience while also apologizing to those waiting.
"We just want everybody to rest assured that South Carolina DNR is doing everything that it possibly can," Greg Lucas, a spokesman for the agency, said.
They started mailing tags in late July, ahead of the August season, and are now offering temporary tags to those who haven't received them.
"If you have not gotten your deer tags and you're going hunting, you can actually print temporary ones so that you can use them," Lucas said. "It will be a little more trouble than getting them in your mailbox and we at SCDNR apologize for that, but we want to make sure that folks have the opportunity to hunt and this temporary solution will address that."
The agency also cleared up false information online, saying an activation process is not and has never been required for deer tags.
"That is patently false," Lucas said. "That's never been the case."
SCDNR is also apologizing to those who may have experienced longer-than-usual wait times when calling the department.
"Ask for people to be patient with that and we'll try to help everybody as soon as we can," Lucas said.
To access temporary tags or view a printing tutorial, visit SCDNR online.