Trapping Regulations
Click Here for the full PDF version of the Trapping Pamphlet:.
FURBEARERS
The following animals are classified as furbearers: beaver, bobcat, coyote, gray fox, mink, muskrat, nutria, opossum, river otter, red fox, raccoon and skunk.
2011-2012 SEASON
The trapping season will open STATEWIDE on Nov. 20, 2011, and will close March 31, 2012. Trapping season on management areas (See management areas.)
LICENSES
Trapper: No person shall set or run traps of any type to catch furbearers during the open trapping season without a current trapping license. No person shall sell pelts or carcasses of furbearers without a current trapping license. (This includes bobcat, raccoon and/or opossum hunters selling pelts and/or meat.) Every fur trapper must at all times have his current trapping license in possession while trapping or selling pelts or carcasses.
Fur Buyer: No person shall buy whole nongame quadrupeds for the purpose of pelting, carcasses of furbearing animals, raw furs or skins from fur trappers, alligator hunters, alligator farmers, fur buyers or fur dealers and sell within the state without a current fur buyer's license in his possession while conducting business.
Fur Dealer: No person shall buy whole nongame quadrupeds for the purpose of pelting, carcasses of furbearing animals, raw furs or skins from fur trappers, alligator hunters, alligator farmers, fur buyers or fur dealers and ship or export these furs or skins from the state without a current fur dealer's license in his possession while conducting business.
CAPTIVE FURBEARERS
Licensed trappers may hold in captivity live furbearers during the open trapping season. Such animals must have been obtained by legal trapping methods. Such animals must be released or pelted by the last day of the open trapping season.
For detailed information on furbearer regulations and trapping, contact a local enforcement agent or one of the Coastal & Nongame Resources Division offices.
LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
P.O. Box 98000 - Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 - (225-765-2811)
2415 Darnall Rd. - New Iberia, LA 70560 - (337-373-0032)
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge
5476 Grand Chenier Hwy. - Grand Chenier, LA 70643 - (337-538-2165)
METHODS OF TAKING FURBEARERS
All animals listed as furbearers may be taken only during the open trapping season and only by means of a trap or snare. Nutria may also be taken by licensed trapper for fur and/or meat during the open season by the use of a rifle, only between the hours of sunrise and sunset.
On WMAs and private property, nutria may be taken recreationally by licensed hunters from Sept. 1 - Feb. 28, during legal shooting hours by any legal hunting method with a daily limit of five (5). When taken with a shotgun, steel shot must be used. On WMAs during waterfowl seasons, nutria may be taken only by the use of shotguns with shot not larger than F steel; during gun deer seasons on WMAs, anyone taking nutria must display 400 square inches of "Hunter Orange" and wear a "Hunter Orange" cap or hat. Recreational nutria hunters must remove each nutria carcass in whole condition from the hunting area, except that nutria may be gutted. Possession of detached nutria parts, including nutria tails, by recreational hunters is illegal. Nutria harvested recreationally may not be pelted nor may such nutria or any nutria parts from recreationally taken nutria be sold, including the tail. Trespassing upon private property for the purpose of taking nutria or other fur bearing animals is punishable by fines and possible jail time (R.S. 56.265). 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 New Iberia office 337-373-0032.
No trap, snare or other device used to capture furbearers shall be set more than one day prior to the open trapping season. No traps shall remain set after the closing day of the trapping season. All traps must be checked daily and all traps must be removed from the trapping grounds the closing day of the trapping season.
Any type of trap with permanent teeth or insert teeth is illegal and cannot be used in Louisiana.
Furbearers can be taken only with traps. Firearms are illegal except as provided for to take nutria, coyote, bobcat, raccoon and opossum, which may be taken with firearms as per provisions below.
The use of dogs to chase or take furbearers is illegal except as provided for when hunting raccoon, opossum, coyote, foxes and bobcats. Dogs may be used during the taking of nutria between the hours of sunrise and sunset. The exceptions are during deer season where still hunting only is allowed and during turkey nesting season as determined by the La. Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.
Pelting: No pelting during the closed trapping season shall be permitted at any time, except with department authorization. The sale of carcasses of nongame quadrupeds is prohibited during the closed trapping season, except with department authorization. These provisions do not apply to nongame quadrupeds raised on farms.
FOX, BOBCAT AND COYOTE
Foxes and bobcats may be run with dogs for “chase only” by licensed hunters. Foxes can be taken only by trappers during the open trapping season. A big game licensee shall only take bobcat during the time period from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset with approved archery equipment, shotgun, primitive firearm or center firearm. A big game licensee shall not take more than one bobcat per calendar year. This regulation applies only to property that is privately owned, state WMAs and the Bayou des Ourses, Bodcau, Bonnet Carre, Indian Bayou, Loggy Bayou and Soda Lake tracts owned by the Corps of Engineers, but does not apply to state wildlife refuges, the Kisatchie National Forest or other federally owned refuges and lands. On state WMAs the take of bobcat is restricted to those open seasons on the WMAs which require the respective legal weapons noted above. Bobcats cannot be pelted or sold without a trapping license. Holders of hunting licenses may take coyotes year round during legal daylight shooting hours. 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 during still hunting segments of the firearm season for deer.
RACCOON & OPOSSUM HUNTING: NO CLOSED SEASON
Raccoon and opossum can be taken at night by one or more licensed hunters with one or more dogs and one .22 rimfire rifle. A licensed hunter may take raccoon or opossum with .22 rimfire or shotgun during daylight hours during the open rabbit season. No bag limit for nighttime or daytime raccoon or opossum hunting during the open trapping season except on certain WMAs as listed. The remainder of the year, raccoon and opossum bag limit for daytime or nighttime is two per person per day or night. No one who hunts raccoons or opossums as prescribed above shall pelt or sell skins or carcasses of raccoons and opossums taken during the open trapping season unless he is the holder of a valid trapper’s license which shall be required in addition to his basic hunting license. Hunting from boats or motor vehicles is prohibited.
BOBCAT & RIVER OTTER: TAGGING REQUIREMENTS
To obtain federal approval to export bobcat and river otter outside the United States, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is required to ensure that only Louisiana trapped river otter and bobcat are tagged with Louisiana export tags. To accomplish this, a special possession tag will be made available to fur buyers, fur dealers and trappers.
A blue tag for river otter and a red tag for bobcat must be filled out by the trapper at the time the pelt is first sold. The information required includes trapper name, trapper license number, parish caught in and date trapped. No bobcat or river otter pelts shall be purchased from a trapper or be in the possession of a fur buyer or dealer without a possession tag until they are submitted to the department in exchange for export tags. Dealers shall not purchase bobcat or river otter pelts without an accompanying possession tag.
No bobcat or river otter pelt shall be shipped from the state without an export tag attached. Dealers will obtain export tags for bobcat and river otter by providing the department with one completed possession tag for each pelt to be shipped from the state. It shall be illegal to falsify possession tags or attach Louisiana export tags to out-of-state bobcat or river otter pelts. Once possession tags have been received and counted by department personnel, export tags will be mailed immediately. Trappers shipping bobcat or river otter out of state must provide completed possession tags to the department in order to receive export tags.
SHIPMENT OF RAW FURS OR ALLIGATOR SKINS
No fur trapper, alligator hunter, or fur dealer shall transport or ship raw furs or alligator skins out of the state without first obtaining an official out-of-state shipping tag from the department. No fur buyer may transport or ship raw fur or skins out of the state except to a licensed non-resident fur dealer.
Severance Tax: There is levied a severance tax on all skins or hides taken from any furbearing animals or alligators, within the state, payable to the state through the department by the fur trapper, alligator hunter, or alligator farmer shipping or taking his own catch out-of-state or by the dealer shipping skins or hides out-of-state or tanning fur pelts or alligator skins in the state. A fur trapper, alligator hunter, or alligator farmer must pay this tax at the time the fur or skin is transported or shipped out-of-state. A fur dealer shipping or transporting fur pelts out-of-state or tanning fur pelts within the state must pay this tax within ten days following the department’s annual audit. A fur dealer shipping or transporting alligator skins out-of-state or tanning alligator skins within the state must pay the severance tax at the time of shipment or prior to tanning.
The tax is as follows: beaver, bobcat, coyote, fox, muskrat, opossum, raccoon and skunk, one cent (.01) on each pelt; nutria, two cents (.02) on each pelt; mink, ten cents (.10) on each pelt; river otter and alligator, twenty-five cents (.25) on each pelt or skin.
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS
Trapping: Self-clearing permit for trapping on the WMA is required. Other special trapping exceptions are listed under respective WMA season schedules. All traps must be run daily. Traps with teeth are illegal. Hunter orange is required when a deer gun season is in progress.
Raccoon Hunting (Experimental): Self-clearing permit for raccoon hunting on the WMA is required. A licensed hunter may take raccoon or opossum, one per person, during daylight hours only, during the open rabbit season on WMAs. No bag limit for nighttime or daytime raccoon or opossum hunting during the open trapping season.
Requests for information on maps, permits and WMAs may be directed to any regional office or Coastal & Nongame Resources Division office:
| Minden | 9961 Hwy. 80 Minden, LA 71055 |
318-371-3050 |
| Monroe | 368 Century Tel Drive Monroe, LA 71203 |
318-343-4044 |
| Pineville | 1995 Shreveport Hwy. Pineville, LA 71360 |
318-487-5885 |
| Lake Charles | 1213 N. Lakeshore Drive Lake Charles, LA 70601 |
337-491-2575 |
| Opelousas | 5652 Hwy. 182 Opelousas, LA 70570 |
337-948-0255 |
| Baton Rouge | P.O. Box 98000 Baton Rouge, LA 70898 |
225-765-2360 |
| New Orleans | 2021 Lake Shore Drive New Orleans, LA 70122 |
504-284-2023 |
| New Iberia Coastal & Non-game | 337-373-0032 | |
| Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge | 337-538-2276 |
TRAPPERS & ALLIGATOR HUNTERS
When you purchase a $25 trapping or alligator hunting license, you are investing in your future and the future of the Louisiana fur or alligator industry. Twenty dollars of every trapping or alligator license are dedicated to a special fund (respectively). Each of these funds is being used to achieve two major goals:
1.
To provide for PUBLIC EDUCATION concerning the role of trapping and hunting in wildlife management and the role of alligators as a sustainable natural resource.
2.
To develop FUR MARKET STABILITY & ENHANCEMENT through promotion, advertisement, and new product development, and to develop ALLIGATOR MARKET STABILITY & ENHANCEMENT through disease and market research and hide and meat promotion.
A nine-person council made up of trappers and land managers meets quarterly with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to ensure the wise use of these funds. The Fur Advisory Council works to improve the future for fur resources, trappers, and the industry. For more information contact the Louisiana Fur Advisory Council, 2415 Darnall Road, New Iberia, LA 70560.
A nine-person council made up of alligator hunters, farmers and land managers meets quarterly with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to ensure the wise use of these funds. The Alligator Advisory Council works to improve the future for alligator resources, alligator hunters and farmers and the industry. For more information contact the Louisiana Alligator Advisory Council, 2415 Darnall