Quadrupeds & Resident Game Birds Seasons

Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, EXCEPT for Raccoon and Opossum which are legal for day and nighttime take. Consult Wildlife Management Area and Federal Land schedules for specific regulations and dates on those areas.

*Spring squirrel season is CLOSED on the Kisatchie National Forest, some national wildlife refuges, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property and some state WMAs (check WMA season schedule).

Bobcat

Season:

Experimental Year Round Season -

License Requirements

• A Basic Hunting License is required of all persons hunting bobcat. See page 8 for exceptions and exemptions.

Prohibited Activities

• Take of bobcat outside of legal shooting hours.

Limit

• One per calendar year.

Legal Gear

• Firearms, archery equipment, and primitive firearms legal for deer.

Exceptions

• Licensed trappers may take bobcat during the open trapping season without possessing a Basic Hunting License.
• Regulation does not apply to state wildlife refuges or other federally owned refuges and lands.
• On state WMAs and Kisatchie National Forest the take of bobcat is restricted to those open seasons which require the respective legal gear noted above.

Raccoon And Opossum

Season:

Year Round Season

License Requirements

• Basic Hunting License required of all persons hunting Raccoon and Opossum.
• A Trapping License is required to sell skins and carcasses during open trapping seasons. See page 8 for exceptions and exemptions.

Prohibited Activities

• Selling of skins and carcasses without a valid Trapping License.
• Pelting or selling of skins and carcasses outside of the open trapping season.
• Hunting from boats or motor vehicles.
• Hunting or taking furbearing animals at night with artificial light EXCEPT it is legal to hunt or take raccoon or opossum at night with lights, provided such hunting or take is conducted with the use of one or more dogs (R.S. 56:116.C.1).

Daily Limit

• Two raccoon and two opossum per day or night (see exception for open trapping season).

Legal Gear

• During daylight hours:
• Rimfire firearms .22 caliber or smaller.
• Muzzleloading firearm .36 caliber or smaller.
• Legal archery gear
• Air rifles
• Shotguns only during daylight hours.
• During nighttime hours:
• Rimfire firearms .22 caliber or smaller.

Exceptions

• No daily limit for nighttime or daytime raccoon or opossum during the open trapping season EXCEPT on certain WMAs as listed.

Nutria

Season:

Sept. 1 - Feb. 29. See exception below for certain WMAs.

Prohibited Activities

• Possession of detached nutria parts, including nutria tails, by recreational hunters.
• Pelting of recreationally harvested nutria.
• Sale of recreationally harvested nutria or any parts from recreationally harvested nutria.
• Leaving of recreationally harvested nutria carcass in the field, EXCEPT that nutria may be gutted.

Daily Limit

• Five per day.

Legal Gear

• Any gear on private lands. Shotguns with non-toxic shot only and rimfire rifles .22 caliber and smaller on WMAs.

Exceptions

• Nutria may be taken on Atchafalaya Delta, Salvador/Timken, Pointe-Aux-Chenes, and Pass-a-Loutre WMAs Sept. 1 - March 31.
• On WMAs during waterfowl seasons, nutria may be taken only by the use of shotguns with shot not larger than F steel.

The Coastwide Nutria Control Program is a separate program and is in no way related to the nutria recreational season. For questions on the Coastwide Nutria Control Program call the Lafayette field office: 337-262-2080.

CROWS

Season:

Sept. 1 - Jan. 1.

Daily Limit

• No limit

Pheasant

License Requirements

• Basic Hunting License for persons 18 and older is required of all persons hunting quadrupeds and resident game birds. Additional licenses are required for deer and turkey. See page 8 for exceptions and exemptions.

Prohibited Activities

• - Import, sell, use or possess scents or lures that contain natural deer urine or other bodily fluids, except natural deer urine products produced by manufacturers or entities that are actively enrolled and participating in the Responsible Hunting Scent Association or the Archery Trade Association Deer Protection Program, which has been tested using real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and certified that no detectable levels of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) are present and is clearly labeled as such.
• Take of quadrupeds and resident game birds with a firearm fitted with an infrared sight, laser sight or EXCEPT as provided in R.S. 56:116 (A) (8) any sighting device which projects a beam of light to the target or otherwise electronically illuminates the target, or device specifically designed to enhance vision at night [R.S. 56:116.1(B)(3)(a-b)]. Any person who has been convicted of a class four or greater hunting violation for a period of five years after the date of such conviction shall not use a firearm fitted with a sound suppressor pursuant to R.S. 56:116.6.
• Intentionally feeding, depositing, placing, distributing, exposing, scattering, or causing to be fed, deposited, placed, distributed, exposed, or scattered, raw sweet potatoes to wild game quadrupeds.
• Use of shotguns larger than a 10 gauge or capable of holding more than three shells.
• Possession of shotguns in which the plug may be removed without disassembly.
• Take of game quadrupeds or birds from aircraft.
• Hunting or take of squirrel or rabbit with a breech-loaded rifle or handgun larger than .22 caliber, any centerfire rifle, or a muzzleloading firearm larger than .36 caliber

Legal Gear

• Legal archery gear or a shotgun not larger than a 10 gauge fired from the shoulder is legal for taking all resident game birds and quadrupeds.
• Handgun, rifle and falconry (special permit required) is legal for taking all game species EXCEPT turkey.
• Air rifles are legal for taking squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, opossum and outlaw quadrupeds.

Refer to game schedules contained within these regulations for specific gear restrictions.

Nuisance Animals

• Landowners or their designees may remove beaver and nutria causing damage to their property without a special permit. Water set traps and firearms may be used to remove beaver; nutria may be removed by any means (see Nighttime Take of Nutria, Beaver & Outlaw Quadrupeds).
• Any nuisance beaver or nutria trapped or shot outside open trapping season cannot be pelted or sold. A trapping license is required to sell or pelt nuisance beavers or nutria taken during open trapping season. Squirrel found destroying commercial crops of pecans may be taken year-round by permit issued by LDWF. Contact the local LDWF field office for details.

Outlaw Quadrupeds (Coyotes, Armadillos & Feral Hogs)

Holders of a hunting license may take coyotes, feral hogs and armadillos year round during legal daylight shooting hours (for information on nighttime take see Nighttime Take of Nutria, Beaver & Outlaw Quadrupeds). The running of coyotes with dogs is prohibited in all turkey hunting areas during the open turkey season. Coyote hunting is restricted to chase only when using dogs during still hunting segments of the firearm and archery only seasons for deer. Foxes are protected quadrupeds and may be taken only with traps by licensed trappers during the trapping season. Remainder of the year “chase only” allowed by licensed hunters.

Persons using cage or corral traps to capture feral hogs must have a basic hunting license. Hog traps must have an opening in the top measuring at least 22 x 22 inches or 25 inches in diameter. Persons using snares to capture feral hogs must have a trapping license. Use of snares is not recommended in areas that have bears.

Nighttime take of Nutria, Beaver & outlaw quadrupeds

On private property, the landowner, or his lessee or agent with written permission and the landowner’s contact information in his possession, may take outlaw quadrupeds, nutria or beaver during nighttime hours year round. However, no person shall be allowed to participate or be present during nighttime hunting activities if convicted of a class three or greater wildlife violation within the previous five years or if he has any other prohibition which would prevent the legal use of a firearm or participation in a hunting activity. Such taking may be with or without the aid of artificial light, infrared or laser sighting devices, or night vision devices. Any person attempting to take outlaw quadrupeds, nutria or beaver under the provisions of this paragraph, shall notify the sheriff of the parish in which the property is located of his intention to attempt to take outlaw quadrupeds, nutria or beaver within 24 hours prior to the attempted taking or immediately upon taking the animal.

Hunting and/or Discharging Firearms on Public Roads

Prohibited Activities

• Hunting, standing, loitering or shooting game quadrupeds or game birds while on a public road or public road right-of-way.
• Hunting or discharging a firearm on or across an open LMV road or LMV road right-of-way.
• Spot-lighting or shining from public roads.