spectr17
06-24-2001, 08:39 PM
Nutria season nears
By JOE MACALUSO, Advocate Online outdoors writer
Come Sept. 1 a new world will open for Louisiana hunters.
Nutria, the malevolent creature thriving in the state's marshlands and swamps, will become legal -- legal to hunt, that is.
State wildlife officials said they know hunters have killed the large, pesky rodents for years. However, unless you had a state-issued permit to do away with the furry critter, it was illegal for hunters to shoot them. "Nuisance animal" permits have been granted to landowners for a decade. The other way to have nutria in possession was to have a state trapping license.
The Legislature allowed a hunting season when it passed Act 226 in May. Gov. Mike Foster signed the bill into law on June 1.
Earlier this month, Wildlife and Fisheries assistant secretary Phil Bowman presented a Sept. 1, 2001-Feb. 28, 2002 hunting season on the animal. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is expected to ratify those dates at its July 5 meeting in Baton Rouge.
It's expected that nutria will join deer, rabbits, squirrels, quail, raccoon and opossum on the state's list of
legally hunted resident game.
However, before hunters start sharpening their aim, there are regulations that must be ironed out.
Wildlife and Fisheries' Enforcement Division spokesman Maj. Keith LaCaze said the length of the soon-to-be nutria season could pose a problem for state wildlife agents.
"We want the hunters to be able to take nutria with whatever weapon is legal at the time," LaCaze said.
The undercurrent of LaCaze's statement is that by opening a first nutria season, the Enforcement Division does not want to open a door for poachers, especially deer poachers.
Bowman's initial proposal included rules such as:
Daylight hunting hours only
Hunters limited to weapons legally used to take small game
No daily bag limit
Hunters will not be allowed to sell skins or meat, a move that will not tap into the market for the state's trappers. The exception will be if the hunter obtains a trapping license and sells skins and meat only during the trapping season
The hunting season will not infringe on landowners holding nuisance permits to take nutria from their land all year
The Enforcement Division seeks to revise the second rule on this list.
Because of their size, nutria can be dispatched with a shotgun or .22 caliber rimfire rifle or pistol. Those weapons are allowed during the Sept. 1-Feb. 28 nutria season to hunt mourning doves, raccoons and opossums. Doves are hunted with shotguns and small shot, while .22 rimfire weapons are the only ones allowed for raccoon and opossum hunters. Because coyotes, armadillos and unmarked hogs are allowed to be hunted all year, it's possible for hunters to carry larger caliber weapons into the field. But hunting activity on those animals during the warm months of September and October is light.
Nutria can be killed with a shotgun loaded with shells designed to take small game and birds as large as ducks. The initial nutria-season proposal is a problem for enforcement agents because an interpretation leaves a loophole that would allow shotgunners to carry buckshot (large lead shot) during months when deer season is closed to modern, large-caliber weapons.
That's why when the nutria season's framework is presented in a final form to the LWFC at its July meeting, it's likely the Enforcement Division will have developed rules that will allow nutria hunting with weapons consistent with other open seasons. It's a move that will expand the weaponry beyond the "small caliber" wording outlined earlier this month.
"We don't want a hunter sitting on a deer stand to be prohibited from taking a nutria," LaCaze said. "We know how much a problem nutria are in the state, and we don't want to do anything that would prevent a hunter from legally taking one."
ONLINE LICENSES: By now, most outdoorsmen know the state's new "point-of-sale" method of selling hunting and fishing licenses has been fully implemented. The new system is hooked up to a computer at more than 500 locations around the state.
Earlier this month, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries took steps to bring license sales as close as a personal computer when its online license sales program was activated.
Via the Internet, in-state and nonresident hunters and fishermen can get what the LDWF called "instant license verification" through its Web site -- http://www.wlf.state.la.us. You'll need Visa or MasterCard to pay for the license.
Upon entering the Web site, click "Hunting and fishing license information" then click "online license sales."
An application will come up on the screen. Fill it out, and when the license purchase is approved, the buyer will receive a reply with a verification number. Instead of having a paper license, the online license will allow you to carry the verification number with your driver's license on a hunting or fishing trip. Those two items are sufficient until the completed license arrives in the mail.
The LDWF said there is a $3 surcharge for the service.
In addition to point-of-sale and online methods, licenses can still be purchased by calling the LDWF's toll-free number, 1-888-765-2602.
By JOE MACALUSO, Advocate Online outdoors writer
Come Sept. 1 a new world will open for Louisiana hunters.
Nutria, the malevolent creature thriving in the state's marshlands and swamps, will become legal -- legal to hunt, that is.
State wildlife officials said they know hunters have killed the large, pesky rodents for years. However, unless you had a state-issued permit to do away with the furry critter, it was illegal for hunters to shoot them. "Nuisance animal" permits have been granted to landowners for a decade. The other way to have nutria in possession was to have a state trapping license.
The Legislature allowed a hunting season when it passed Act 226 in May. Gov. Mike Foster signed the bill into law on June 1.
Earlier this month, Wildlife and Fisheries assistant secretary Phil Bowman presented a Sept. 1, 2001-Feb. 28, 2002 hunting season on the animal. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is expected to ratify those dates at its July 5 meeting in Baton Rouge.
It's expected that nutria will join deer, rabbits, squirrels, quail, raccoon and opossum on the state's list of
legally hunted resident game.
However, before hunters start sharpening their aim, there are regulations that must be ironed out.
Wildlife and Fisheries' Enforcement Division spokesman Maj. Keith LaCaze said the length of the soon-to-be nutria season could pose a problem for state wildlife agents.
"We want the hunters to be able to take nutria with whatever weapon is legal at the time," LaCaze said.
The undercurrent of LaCaze's statement is that by opening a first nutria season, the Enforcement Division does not want to open a door for poachers, especially deer poachers.
Bowman's initial proposal included rules such as:
Daylight hunting hours only
Hunters limited to weapons legally used to take small game
No daily bag limit
Hunters will not be allowed to sell skins or meat, a move that will not tap into the market for the state's trappers. The exception will be if the hunter obtains a trapping license and sells skins and meat only during the trapping season
The hunting season will not infringe on landowners holding nuisance permits to take nutria from their land all year
The Enforcement Division seeks to revise the second rule on this list.
Because of their size, nutria can be dispatched with a shotgun or .22 caliber rimfire rifle or pistol. Those weapons are allowed during the Sept. 1-Feb. 28 nutria season to hunt mourning doves, raccoons and opossums. Doves are hunted with shotguns and small shot, while .22 rimfire weapons are the only ones allowed for raccoon and opossum hunters. Because coyotes, armadillos and unmarked hogs are allowed to be hunted all year, it's possible for hunters to carry larger caliber weapons into the field. But hunting activity on those animals during the warm months of September and October is light.
Nutria can be killed with a shotgun loaded with shells designed to take small game and birds as large as ducks. The initial nutria-season proposal is a problem for enforcement agents because an interpretation leaves a loophole that would allow shotgunners to carry buckshot (large lead shot) during months when deer season is closed to modern, large-caliber weapons.
That's why when the nutria season's framework is presented in a final form to the LWFC at its July meeting, it's likely the Enforcement Division will have developed rules that will allow nutria hunting with weapons consistent with other open seasons. It's a move that will expand the weaponry beyond the "small caliber" wording outlined earlier this month.
"We don't want a hunter sitting on a deer stand to be prohibited from taking a nutria," LaCaze said. "We know how much a problem nutria are in the state, and we don't want to do anything that would prevent a hunter from legally taking one."
ONLINE LICENSES: By now, most outdoorsmen know the state's new "point-of-sale" method of selling hunting and fishing licenses has been fully implemented. The new system is hooked up to a computer at more than 500 locations around the state.
Earlier this month, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries took steps to bring license sales as close as a personal computer when its online license sales program was activated.
Via the Internet, in-state and nonresident hunters and fishermen can get what the LDWF called "instant license verification" through its Web site -- http://www.wlf.state.la.us. You'll need Visa or MasterCard to pay for the license.
Upon entering the Web site, click "Hunting and fishing license information" then click "online license sales."
An application will come up on the screen. Fill it out, and when the license purchase is approved, the buyer will receive a reply with a verification number. Instead of having a paper license, the online license will allow you to carry the verification number with your driver's license on a hunting or fishing trip. Those two items are sufficient until the completed license arrives in the mail.
The LDWF said there is a $3 surcharge for the service.
In addition to point-of-sale and online methods, licenses can still be purchased by calling the LDWF's toll-free number, 1-888-765-2602.