Members of the Louisiana Legislature are sinking their teeth into a proposal to open up a new recreational alligator hunting season in the state.
Sport hunters can currently pursue alligators in Louisiana’s public waters and wildlife management areas only if they have access to tags from a state-licensed hunter or helper, who typically harvest the reptiles to sell their hides and meat. Their season usually runs from late summer through Dec. 31, and the state provides its nearly 2,900 licensed hunters with tags, the number specific to each hunted property based on population and habitat.
State Rep. Robert Allain, R-Franklin, has sponsored a bill to let the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission create a separate season for sportsmen without the need for commercial tags.
The American alligator is considered a prime example of conservation success after regaining enough population to be removed from the federal government’s endangered species list in 1987. Overhunting brought the species to the brink of extinction, landing it on the list in 1973. Wildlife officials limited the taking of alligator eggs and encouraged farming to help increase species’ numbers in the wild.
“We’ve gotten to the point now where we are overpopulated. It was too successful, “ Allain told the state Senate Committee on Natural Resources during a hearing on his bill Wednesday.
There was no opposition to Allain’s proposal, which advanced to the Senate floor.
Tyler Bosworth, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told lawmakers one of his priorities is to create more opportunities for sport hunters in Louisiana.
“There’s a lot of support for this, and we think the time is right,” Bosworth said.
Representatives from environmental group National Wildlife Federation also showed support for the proposal at the committee meeting, with the Louisiana Landowners Association giving testimony that the group would be open to a recreational season.
Enforcing strict rules around hunting alligators for recreation is a main goal of the department, Garrett said, to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
“It is a very highly regulated species. It is important that we keep it that way,” Garrett said.
For example, hides and meat that sport hunters take would for personal use but couldn’t be sold. Hunters would also be restricted to using hooks and line, unlike commercial hunters, who can use a gun or a bows and arrows to shoot unhooked gators from boats.
Cole Garrett, the department’s general counsel, said the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission’s proposed plan of action, if the Allain bill is approved, would fold the current, more limited alligator hunting tag lottery into the new recreational season and include eight separate alligator hunting regions for sport hunters.
There will be 10,000 tags made available to sport hunters statewide should the legislation pass, said Bosworth, and applicants will be able secure up to two tags each. The number of tags issued per region would be based on the area’s ability to support sport alligator hunting but not include properties that have already been assigned commercial tags, Garrett said.
Separate legislation from state Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, would distribute the sport hunting tags by lottery, with a $50 non-refundable application fee put toward the new $25 license.
Sport hunting season would start Oct. 1 and end Dec. 31, Bosworth said, so the commercial hunters, with seasons that open in late August in the east zone and early September in the west zone, get a head start. The east zone roughly encompasses the portion of the state east of the Atchafalaya River, south of Interstate 12 through Livingston Parish and east of I-55 in Tangipahoa Parish. The west zone covers the rest of the state.
Representative Chad Boyer was guest speaker and sponsor of the St. Martin Parish AARP Chapter #4460 meeting on March 12. Pictured from left are Barbara Bird, AARP Treasurer; Rep. Chad Boyer, Bonnie Ridley, AARP President; and Liza Chance, AARP Vice President. (Submitted)
Mary Perrin, right, an accomplished Master Gardener and traiteur who plays a vital role in Vermilionville’s medicinal gardens is welcomed by St. Martinville Garden club member Amber LaPierre at the group’s March meeting held at the St. Martinville Public Library. Perrin is co-author of Healing Traditions of South Louisiana Prayers, Plants and Poultices. (Submitted)
