NATCHEZ — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is bringing out another weapon to fight the growing population of feral hogs in the state. Actually it is bringing out several new weapons.

A new law that went into effect Monday Aug. 15 allows licensed hunters to take outlaw quadrupeds (armadillos, coyotes, feral hogs) and nuisance animals (nutria and beaver) at night on private property with any legal firearm from March through the end of August, the LDWF said in a press release.

Although the change to the law is not drastic, assistant administrator of the wildlife division for the LDWF Fred Kimmel said it is another way to combat the rising population of feral hogs.

“A couple years ago we made it legal to take armadillos, feral hogs and all (outlaw quadrupeds) at night, and that was a big change,” he said. “They could be taken at night on private lands by licensed hunters, but it was limited to only using a .22 caliber rifle or a shotgun with buckshot. The change that occurred this year is they no longer have a restriction on the weapons that can be used. Previously hunters had to have a special permit to (use other weapons).”

Kimmel said he thought the wording of the new law was somewhat unclear of the changes. He said many people thought the law stated hunters could take outlaw quadrupeds without a Louisiana hunting license, but that is not the case.

“There was a lot of confusion, but it’s not all that big of a change to be honest,” Kimmel said.

The law also allows hunters to take outlaw quadrupeds using weapons with sound suppressors if they have a valid permit for sound suppressors. Sound suppressed weapons can only be used to take outlaw quadrupeds.

The press release from the LDWF states that, “anyone taking part in these activities at night is required to notify the parish sheriff’s office 24 hours in advance of any such hunt.”

Randy Myers, a biologist for the LDWF, said hunters are required to notify the sheriff’s office mainly to cut down on the amount of calls law enforcement would have to answer.

“The only burden we are putting back on (the hunters) is they have to have permission from the landowner, and contact information of the landowner in their possession,” Myers said. “They also have to contact the local sheriff’s department.

“Since they will be hunting at nighttime we will have folks complaining of shots being fired.”

Myers said if law enforcement were notified ahead of time, they would not have to respond to calls about shots being fired in the area.

Although the law includes coyotes, armadillos, nutria and beaver, the focus is on feral hogs, Kimmel said.

All of Louisiana, including Concordia Parish, is having trouble with controlling the growing population of feral hogs, Kimmel said.

“For whatever reasons, populations have mushroomed across the state, and it’s not limited to just Louisiana but across the Southeast and across the Nation,” Kimmel said. “They do a lot of damage by rooting-up trees, compete with wildlife for food and actually damage agricultural fields by rooting-up crops. They, in some instances, can prey on some species of wildlife like turkeys and fawns.”

The new law is specific to nighttime hunting, because the special weapons restrictions were not in place for daytime hunting of outlaw quadrupeds, Kimmel said. But, feral hogs are intelligent and adapted to protecting themselves against daytime hunters, Kimmel said.

“Day-time (hunting) has been allowed for a long time, but it hasn’t been efficient in controlling the population,” he said.

“Hogs are pretty smart, and they learn quickly when they are not being harassed. They are pretty active at night. (With night hunting) they will have to be aware 24 hours.

“(The new law) is not going to cure the problem, but it gives land owners another option. Maybe it will be a little more efficient to remove some from the population.”

The new law states that the night-hunting season for outlaw quadrupeds ends on Aug. 31, Kimmel said.