Black bear hunting lottery opens for Louisiana state hunters
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has announced that the Black Bear Hunting Lottery will soon be open to state hunters.
The Black Bear Hunting Lottery is set to run from July 28 through August 28 and will be held in Louisiana Black Bear Management Areas 1, 2, and 4 from December 6 to December 21.
According to LDWF, 26 permits have been issued this year, which is a jump from the 11 issued last year. Bear harvesting permits will be split into 3 different categories such as Wildlife Management Area, Private Landowner, and General.
When it comes to bear hunting, area-specific population and viral rate data are used to determine the number of bear harvest permits to be issued. Eight permits will be issued for Bear Management Area 1, and three permits will be issued for Area 2. Area 4 will have 15 permits, including the Secretary's permit.
LDWF wants to remind hunters that cubs and females are not legal to harvest.
The black bear hunting lottery will be restricted to those who are properly licensed Louisiana residents. All successful applicants will be required to attend a LDWF bear hunting training course to be held on Oct. 18, Oct. 24, or Oct. 30 prior to hunting. Those who don't attend the course may have to forfeit their bear hunting license and be disqualified from hunting activities.
In March, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed a notice of intent, authorizing the 2025 Louisiana Black Bear hunt.
For interested hunters, lottery applications are available on the LDWF website. However, applicants must already have a valid black bear hunting license before applying for the Wildlife Management Area and the Black Bear lotteries. All applicants are required to pay a $50 non-refundable application fee.
If you need to get a hunting license, click here.
For more information on the lottery application process, contact David Hayden at 318-487-5353 or dhayden@wlf.la.gov. For more information on the Louisiana black bear and this year’s hunt, contact John Hanks at 318-343-4044 or jhanks@wlf.la.gov.