Committee favors narrow owner-only exemption for nuisance quadrupeds after debate on enforcement and federal match

House Bill 5-08, presented April 28 by Representative McCormick, would exempt landowners from having to purchase a hunting license to take designated "outlaw quadrupeds" (committee discussion identified armadillo, feral hogs and coyotes) on property they own. The committee reported the bill favorably on a roll-call vote of 12 yeas and 2 nays.

McCormick said the exemption addresses nuisance and property-protection concerns and argued that current law (requiring a basic hunting license to take wild quadrupeds) can place an unnecessary burden on homeowners who want to defend livestock, poultry or landscaping. "This is just a simple bill," he said, asking the committee to allow landowners to address nuisance animals on their own property.

Cole Garrett of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries told the committee that the hunting license is a revenue source that supports department enforcement and that federal wildlife restoration funds are allocated to states based in part on license counts; he also raised hunter-education and safety considerations for nighttime hunting activities. LDWF noted the department offers depredation permits for nuisance animals and that curtilage-based exemptions were discussed previously as a narrower option.

Opponents, including the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, urged limiting any exemption to the curtilage of a dwelling rather than broadly exempting all owned acreage, arguing a full-property exemption could undermine enforcement, reduce license revenue and complicate public-safety oversight.

The committee adopted a clarification amendment to ensure the bill applies to the property owner and then reported the bill favorably; roll-call was 12 yeas and 2 nays.