Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Purpose. These regulations are to govern
the purchasing, selling and holding in captivity of live foxes and coyotes for
chasing with hounds. These regulations will prohibit the importation and
exportation of any species of foxes or coyotes to or from Louisiana in an
effort to prevent possible disease and parasite contamination of native wild
canids. Humans are subject to infection with the liver being the most common
site of larval growth. The infection is termed alveolar hydatid disease (AHD).
The number of deaths per number of infected individuals has been 50-75 percent.
These regulations are also enacted to allow the sport of fox/coyote hunting
with dogs within enclosed areas. The regulations provide general rules
including licensing, permits, fees, live trapping, sale and purchase of
animals, holding cage requirements, enclosure requirements, acclimation
requirements and report requirements.
B. Definitions
Acclimation Pen- an area which is built
within or adjacent to fox/coyote hunting preserves which will contain game and
exclude hounds and which will allow game to become acclimated to an enclosed
environment.
Bill of Sale- receipt showing the amount of
game purchased, the date of purchase, and the person from whom the game was
purchased.
Bona Fide Resident- any person who has
resided in the state of Louisiana continuously during the 12 months immedi
a. If registered to vote, he is registered to
vote in Louisiana.
b. If licensed
to drive a motor vehicle, he is in possession of a Louisiana registration for
that vehicle.
c. If owning a motor
vehicle located within Louisiana, he is in possession of a Louisiana
registration for that vehicle.
d.
If earning an income, he has filed a Louisiana state income tax return and has
complied with state income tax laws and regulations.
e. As to a corporation or other legal entity,
a resident shall be any which is incorporated or otherwise organized under and
subject to the laws of Louisiana, and as to which the principal place of
business and more than 50 percent of the offices, partners, or employees are
domiciled in Louisiana.
ately prior to the date on which he applies
for any license and who has manifested his intent to remain in this state by
establishing Louisiana as his legal domicile as demonstrated with all of the
following, as applicable.
Box Trap- a drop-door type of trap that upon
the game's entry into the device encloses and detains the game.
Closed Season- that period of time of the
calendar year not specifically included in the open season.
Department- the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries.
Enclosure-(see fox/coyote hunting
preserve).
Fox/Coyote Hunting Preserve- an area which
is completely enclosed by adequate fencing to contain game and hounds which is
built and maintained for the purpose of training or chasing game with
hounds.
Fox/Coyote Hunting Preserve Operator- anyone
acting as an agent of the owner in caring for or managing the maintenance
and/or business of the preserve.
Game- any red fox or grey fox or coyote
stocked in a fox/coyote hunting preserve for the purpose of dog training and/or
chasing with hounds.
Hunting Preserve Owner- anyone who legally
has possession or has legally leased property on which the enclosure is
established.
LDWF-Approved Applicant-a person who has no
Class 3 or greater wildlife or fish violations during the past three years, who
has a minimum of two years of trapping experience and who is at least 15 years
old.
Landowner- any person who owns land on which
traps are set.
Licensee-any bona fide resident and lawful
holder of an effective license duly issued under the authority of the
department.
Nongame Quadruped- alligators, beavers,
bobcats, coyotes, grey foxes, minks, muskrats, nutrias, opossums, otters,
raccoons, red foxes, skunks and other wild quadrupeds valuable for their furs
or skins.
Nongame Quadruped Breeder- any person
properly licensed to engage in the business of raising, exhibiting and selling
nongame quadrupeds.
Nongame Quadruped Exhibitor- any person
properly licensed to engage in the business of raising and/or exhibiting
nongame quadrupeds.
Nontarget Animal- any animal other than red
fox, grey fox or coyote.
Permittee- any person who has obtained a
valid permit from the department for trapping coyotes during the closed
season.
Person- includes any individual person,
association, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity recognized by
law.
Possess- in its different tenses, the act of
having in possession or control, keeping, detaining, restraining, holding as
owner, or as agent, bailee, or custodian for another.
Raising- the production of red fox, grey
fox, or coyotes in controlled environmental conditions or in outside
facilities.
Rearing-(see
raising).
Relaxing Lock- locking device on a snare
that loosens and tightens in response to the game's action.
Resident-(see bona fide
resident).
Snare- wire device used for taking nongame
quadrupeds.
Soft CatchTM-trap
(manufactured by Woodstream Corporation), no modifications.
Take- in its different tenses, the attempt
or act of hooking, pursuing, netting, capturing, snaring, trapping, shooting,
hunting, wounding, or killing by any means or device.
Transport- in its different tenses, the act
of shipping, attempting to ship, receiving or delivering for shipment,
transporting, conveying, carrying, or exporting by air, land, or water, or by
any means whatsoever.
Trap- any device used in the capture of
birds, quadrupeds or fish.
Trapper- any person properly licensed by the
department engaged in the trapping of nongame quadrupeds.
C. Licenses, Permits and Fees. The licenses
and fees required for activities authorized by these regulations are as
prescribed under provisions of Title 56.
1.
An annual special permit may be issued to a Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries approved applicant [authority granted by Louisiana laws pertaining to
Wildlife and Fisheries,
R.S.
56:123(C)] for the trapping
of coyotes only, outside of the annual trapping season. In order for the
permittee to sell live coyotes, he must also possess a nongame quadruped
breeder's license (R.S. 56:262.1) and a valid trapping license;
2. A nongame quadruped exhibitor's license
may be issued permitting the applicant to breed and/or exhibit such animals
provided he meets the rules and regulations of the department;
3. A nongame quadruped breeder license may be
issued permitting the applicant to breed, propagate, exhibit, and sell such
animals alive.
D. General
Rules
1. No person shall take, possess,
purchase or sell live foxes or coyotes, except as provided in these regulations
and R.S. Title 56.
2. No person
shall hold in captivity any live foxes or coyotes, except as provided in these
regulations and R.S. Title 56.
3.
Fox/coyote hunting preserves shall be of a type and construction such that it
will insure the normal containment of foxes, coyotes and hounds.
4. Fox/coyote hunting preserves shall contain
an adequate number of escape areas which are houndproof. These may be provided
by maintaining thickets, brush piles, windrows, or where natural cover is
insufficient, by providing manmade escapes such as culverts or houndproof
feeding stations.
5. Licensees
shall be required to make available to the game:
a. food that is palatable, uncontaminated and
nutritionally adequate to ensure normal growth and maintenance;
b. water which is fresh, uncontaminated and
available at all times.
6. No person shall transport, possess,
purchase or sell any live foxes or coyotes taken outside the state of
Louisiana. Live foxes and coyotes obtained from outside the state of Louisiana
prior to the enacted date of these regulations and in possession of properly
licensed persons shall be exempt.
7. No person shall transport from the state
or offer for sale out of state any live foxes or coyotes.
8. Acclimation pens shall be constructed
adjacent to or within an enclosure to insure the containment of foxes and
coyotes and the exclusion of hounds. This requirement may be waived for
"training enclosures" or in enclosures where running is discontinued for a
minimum of two weeks while foxes/coyotes adjust to the enclosure
environment.
9. No person may
engage in the business of raising or exhibiting or otherwise possessing fox or
coyotes for the purpose of operating a fox/coyote hunting preserve unless he or
she has acquired and possesses a valid nongame quadruped breeder or exhibitor
license.
10. A licensed trapper may
offer for sale such live animals to any licensed nongame quadruped breeder or
exhibitor during the open trapping season. During any such transactions, a bill
of sale must be provided by the trapper to the nongame breeder or exhibitor and
retained for a period of one year.
11. Permittees (trapping coyotes during the
closed trapping season) will be required to use only either a padded (4 9/16-6
1/2 inch inside jaw width at hinge posts), offset, laminated or wide (4 5/8-6
3/8 inch inside jaw width at hinge posts) or unmodified (5 inch inside jaw
width at hinge posts) foot-hold trap, or a box-type trap, or a cable restraint
with a relaxing lock.
12.
Permittees trapping coyotes during the closed trapping season and licensed as a
nongame quadruped breeder may offer for sale such coyotes. During any such
transaction, a bill of sale must be provided by the seller to the purchaser and
retained for a period of one year by the purchaser.
13. It shall be unlawful to trap coyotes
during the closed trapping season without a permit issued by the
department.
14. Permittees will be
required to check traps daily.
15.
Permittees will be required to have in possession written permission from the
landowners or lessee where traps are set.
16. Permittees shall release all nontarget
species in a manner so as to keep stress or injury minimal.
17. It shall be unlawful to sell native wild
foxes or coyotes outside the state of Louisiana.
18. Trappers and permittees who hold game for
more than one day for sale shall confine animals at a rate of no more than one
fox per 9 square feet and one coyote per 17 square feet. The cage must be high
enough for each animal to easily sit or stand. The cage must be escape-proof
and offer protection from adverse weather.
19. Fox/coyote hunting preserves shall be
exempt from the commission action which prohibits the running of coyotes during
the open turkey season.
20. The
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has the authority to conduct disease
investigations at any time and, pending the results of the disease
investigations, has the authority to quarantine fox/coyote hunting preserves if
deemed necessary. The department also has the authority to prohibit the release
of animals that are diseased or have been exposed to diseased
animals.
21. Neurological or sick
animals shall be humanely euthanized and shall not be moved or sold in an
effort to prevent the spread of disease. Licensees shall be required to
immediately report to the department the occurrence of any disease contracted
by captive fox or coyotes. These diseases include but are not limited to
rabies, canine distemper, sarcoptic mange or Echinococcus infections.
22. Animals held under any non-game quadruped
breeder, non-game quadruped exhibitor, or coyote trapping license shall not be
physically altered, except for medical treatment by a Louisiana licensed
veterinarian, or mutilated in any way.
E. Report Requirements
1. Report forms provided by the department
must be completed and filed with the department by all persons who have been
issued a nongame quadruped breeder or exhibitor license or who have been issued
a special permit allowing the trapping of coyotes only in the closed season in
accordance with this Subsection. Reports shall include but not be limited to
the information specified in R.S. 56:262.1(d). Failure to complete these forms
properly and completely will result in nonrenewal of the nongame quadruped
breeder or exhibitor license.
2.
All licensed nongame quadruped exhibitors will be required to include
information regarding numbers of animals by species in captivity, number of
known losses (death or escape), number of animals by species purchased and the
sources of game purchases.
3. All
licensed nongame quadruped breeders will be required to include information
regarding numbers of animals by species in captivity, numbers of losses,
numbers of animals by species purchased and the sources of game purchases, and
number of sales by species and the person who bought the game.
F. Penalty for Violation.
Violation of these regulations will be a Class 2 violation with the following
exceptions.
1. Violation of the license
requirements for nongame quadruped breeders and nongame quadruped exhibitors
shall be a Class 3 violation (see
§113.C.1 and D.2. of this
Chapter).
2. Violation of the
reporting requirements shall be a Class 3 violation (see §113E.1-3 of this
Chapter).
3. Violation of the
regulations pertaining to import of foxes and/or coyotes into the state or
export of foxes and/or coyotes from the state shall be a Class 4 violation (see
§113.D 6-7 of this
Chapter).
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
56:262.
