The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will enforce deer tagging regulations during the 2008-09 hunting season and urges hunters to become familiar with the steps in the process before the season begins.
“The tagging of deer taken by hunters was voluntary last season and we wanted hunters to become familiar with the process,” said Jimmy Anthony, assistant secretary for LDWF’s Office of Wildlife. “This season tagging is mandatory and we are very interested in collecting the valuable harvest information the program will provide.”
Prior to hunting deer this season in Louisiana, all deer hunters, regardless of age or license status, must obtain deer tags and carry them when hunting deer. Deer tags will be issued as follows:
* At the point of sale, when purchasing a Big Game license from a license vendor.
* La. Lifetime Hunting license holders: License vendors will issue tags free of charge when the Lifetime Hunting license is presented.
* Resident Senior Hunt/Fish license holder: License vendors will issue tags free of charge when the Resident Senior Hunt/Fish license is presented.
* Resident Seniors (not required to carry a hunt/fish license): License vendors will issue tags free of charge when a Louisiana driver’s license or state-issued picture I.D. is presented.
* Hunters 15 years of age and under: License vendors will issue tags free of charge to youth hunters providing a Social Security number and date of birth.
NOTE: Additional to license purchase and deer tag options at license vendor outlets, LDWF offices issuing licenses and deer tags include:
Region 2 – 368 Century Tel Drive, Monroe 71203; ph. 318-343-4045
Region 3 – 1995 Shreveport Hwy., Pineville 71360; ph. 318-487-5885
Region 5 – 1213 N. Lakeshore Drive, Lake Charles 70601; ph. 337-491-2575
Region 6 – 5652 Hwy. 182, Opelousas 70570; ph. 337-948-0255
Baton Rouge – 2000 Quail Drive, B.R. 70808; ph. 225-765-2887
When in the field, and immediately upon harvesting a deer, the hunter must:
* Tag the deer with the appropriate Carcass Tag from the license before it is moved and document the kill on the Harvest Report Card portion of the deer tag.
* Record the date of kill and the parish of kill on the Carcass Tag.
When transporting the harvested deer:
* The tag must remain attached to the deer while kept at camp, or while it is transported to the domicile of the hunter or to a cold storage facility.
* Hunters who keep the carcass or meat at their camp must also comply with game Possession Tag regulations. Possession Tags are printed within the back of the of the 2008-09 Louisiana Hunting Regulations booklet, or can be downloaded via the LDWF Web site, and document the identification of the hunter who harvested the deer. Correctly completed Possession Tags identify the hunter responsible for the dressed deer meat and allow anyone to transport the meat legally.
Within 72 hours of the harvest of each deer, the hunter must:
* Validate the kill by toll-free phone at 866-484-4805 or via the Internet at https://www4.wildlifelicense.com/la/start.php
* Record the validation number obtained by phone or Internet on the Harvest Report Card.
Additionally:
Hunters harvesting deer on Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) properties and Landowner Antlerless Deer Tag (LADT) properties receive separate tags specific to properties within each program and should follow the instructions provided to them by LDWF. Hunters on state wildlife management areas can validate harvested deer during mandatory deer check hunts, when deer check stations are in operation.
Hunters are advised not to remove the Carcass Tags from the Deer Harvest Report Card until a deer is harvested. Single tags are automatically voided if detached from the license prematurely, not placed on a harvested animal, and then lost by a hunter. Duplicate tags will be available to replace lost tags at a charge to the hunter. Hunters who have harvested deer prior to losing their remaining tags will have to remove and discard the duplicate tags to account for the original tags that have been used and validated. Hunters must record these validated deer on the duplicate deer tag.
Anyone purchasing a license by phone or the Internet will be given both an authorization number and a LDWF identification number that will serve as their temporary license until the actual license arrives by mail. Hunters will tag deer with Possession Tags using the authorization number and LDWF identification number for the required license numbers recorded on the Possession Tag. Hunters will maintain documentation of these harvested deer and will validate harvested deer as required by law when the hunter’s actual license is received. The hunter will validate the license information from these harvested deer and will discard the license tags for these validated deer.
NOTE: Hunting license purchases by phone or the Internet will include a handling fee, as will deer tag requests by Lifetime license holders, Resident Seniors and hunters 15 years of age and younger.
A complete listing of all rules pertaining to deer season and tagging is provided in the 2008-09 Louisiana Hunting Regulations booklet, or those same rules can be downloaded via the LDWF Web site at www.wlf.louisiana.gov. To view an instructional video on deer tagging via the LDWF Web site, go to www.wlf.louisiana.gov/hunting/regulations/deerhunting/.
