The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will be holding another black bear hunting season in December. John Hanks, the large carnivore manager for LDWF, says 25 tags will be available in a month-long lottery, starting next Monday.
“So if you win one of those tags, then you can hunt bears from December 6th through December 21st in the bear area that you won your lottery tag,” Hanks said.
Last year, in the state’s first black bear hunting season since 1987, it was only open in far northeast Louisiana. This year, they’re opening it up in the coastal parishes and the lower and upper Atchafalaya basins.
“It’s been quite a while and we had just bear area four last year, but now we’re going to have one, two, and four,” Hanks noted.
Hanks says they awarded ten tags last year; and it proved to be successful to the point that they’re able to expand the area and offer additional tags.
“Last year was kind of a practice run to see how it worked. We have data in different parts of the state that show we have some excess bears that can be harvested, utilized by our citizens,” Hanks said.
Applicants will pay a $50 non-refundable fee, and the 25 lucky ones who get hunting tags will be required to attend a LDWF bear hunter training course.
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