image courtesy of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries/Facebook
This Saturday, a special Black-bellied whistling duck season begins. It will run through October 11th. Wildlife and Fisheries Assistant Secretary Tommy Tuma says Louisiana is the first state to have a black bellied whistling duck season, and it’s because there is an overabundance of them.
“We’ve seen expansion of their population and range into south Louisiana, to the point where there are a lot of them early in the season,” Tuma said.
The black-bellied whistling ducks have grown into a significant agriculture and residential nuisance. Tuma says they damage rice fields, their persistent loud whistling noises is not pleasant to listen to, and they compete with native wood ducks for nesting places.
“We’re trying to maximize opportunity. They’re a resource that can be utilized. There are some nuisance reports with some grain elevators and crop depredation,” Tuma explained.
The daily bag limit for the season with be four, with a possession limit of 12. Tuma says all hunters participating in the season will be required to have a free, black-bellied whistling duck hunting permit from LDWF.
“We’re going to require, in addition to your basic license and your Louisiana duck stamp and federal duck stamp and registration, you’ve got to have a black-bellied whistling duck permit,” Tuma noted.
Shooting hours will be sunrise to sunset, and hunters are required to report effort and harvest within 15 days of the black-bellied whistling duck season closure.
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