HLS 18RS-2945 REENGROSSED
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 83
BY REPRESENTATIVE MACK
HUNTING: Urges and requests the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to authorize
increased hunting opportunities of feral hogs on Wildlife Management Areas
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to increase the opportunities
3 to take feral hogs from wildlife management areas and to make any
4 recommendations to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission necessary to
5 accomplish that goal.
6 WHEREAS, feral hogs (Sus scrofa), including European wild hogs and hybrids,
7commonly weigh two hundred pounds but can easily weigh up to four hundred pounds and
8are quickly becoming the most serious problem facing land managers and hunters in
9Louisiana; and
10 WHEREAS, feral hogs are omnivorous but vegetation constitutes the largest portion
11of their diet as they use their very tough nose that allows them to "root" for invertebrates,
12tubers, or any other underground food, thereby disrupting crops, golf courses, levees,
13hayfields, tree farms, and even lawns; and
14 WHEREAS, feral hogs are extremely prolific with generally two litters per year of
15up to ten piglets per litter; while the feral hogs have virtually no natural predators, so piglet
16survival is nearly one hundred percent which allows the population to increase
17exponentially; and
18 WHEREAS, feral hogs are plagued by a multitude of diseases that can affect humans,
19commercial swine operations, or wildlife, including swine brucellosis, pseudorabies, and
20classical swine fever; and
Page 1 of 2 HLS 18RS-2945 REENGROSSED
HCR NO. 83
1 WHEREAS, with their high proliferation and lack of natural predators, management
2of feral hogs is of paramount importance to the state and the hunters and farmers of the state;
3and
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission establishes,
5maintains, and manages wildlife management areas and is charged with establishing all rules
6and regulations pertaining to the propagation, protection, and harvest of all species of
7wildlife on wildlife management areas; and
8 WHEREAS, many owners of farm and hunting land are using the tools created by
9recent changes to hunting laws aimed at reducing feral hog infestations, including taking
10feral hogs any day of the year, on certain nights of the year, with firearms equipped with
11sounds suppressers, and by aircraft; and
12 WHEREAS, these landowners' efforts have been stymied by the refuge for feral hogs
13created on wildlife management areas due to decreased hunting pressure as feral hogs can
14only be taken on wildlife management areas on days during an open hunting season with the
15method of take for that particular open season.
16 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
17urge and request the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to increase the opportunities to
18take feral hogs from wildlife management areas and to make any recommendations to the
19Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission necessary to accomplish that goal.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
21to the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 83 Reengrossed 2018 Regular Session Mack
Urges and requests the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries to increase the opportunities to take
feral hogs from wildlife management areas and to make any recommendations to the La.
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission necessary to accomplish that goal.
Page 2 of 2