Louisiana has a lot of alligators.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries estimates the state has more than 3 million wild alligators, plus nearly 1 million more on farms.
So the state is moving toward a major expansion of recreational alligator hunting.
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved a Notice of Intent for LDWF to conduct a statewide recreational alligator hunting season from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, 2026. The proposed season would be separate from the state’s commercial alligator program, and public comment remains open through June 26, 2026.
The proposal follows Senate Bill 244, authored by Sen. Robert Allain, which gives the commission authority to create a special recreational alligator season independent of the traditional commercial season. The enrolled bill allows the commission to set season areas, quotas, tag allotments, residency rules, legal methods, and harvest hours.
A Bigger Lottery Hunt
Under the proposed rule, the recreational season would run through a lottery. Only Louisiana residents who are at least 16 years old and hunter-ed certified could apply.
LDWF could select up to 5,000 participants. Each successful applicant would receive two recreational alligator hide tags, creating a maximum of 10,000 for the season.
Hunters would need a basic hunting license, a recreational alligator hunting license, valid recreational hide tags, and written proof of land ownership or landowner permission.
The proposed recreational license would cost $25 for residents. Nonresidents couldn’t apply for the lottery, but they could participate while physically present with a lottery-winning resident hunter. They’d also need the required nonresident licenses.
The Proposed Rules Keep the Hunt Tight
The proposed rules wouldn’t allow hunters to wander into the swamp and start shooting alligators. The proposal would limit recreational hunters to hook-and-line or snatch-hook methods. Hunters would need to anchor or tether those lines, or run them from eligible immovable property with written landowner permission.
Pole hunting and free shooting would be prohibited.
Hunters could use a firearm or a bang stick to dispatch an alligator only after they’ve taken it on hook and line. They would also allow hunters to dispatch a secured alligator from a boat, as long as the animal remains attached to a line anchored, tethered, or run from eligible immovable property.
Recreational Means Recreational
The proposed recreational tags would be no-sale tags. Alligators, hides, meat, and parts taken under those tags couldn’t be sold, bartered, or moved into commercial channels.
They also couldn’t be mixed with commercial-tag alligators.
Properties already issued commercial harvest tags would be excluded from recreational eligibility. That’s a key part of the proposal, because it aims to expand recreational opportunity without directly overlapping with Louisiana’s existing commercial alligator program.
Louisiana’s Alligator Comeback
LDWF describes the American alligator as a commercial, renewable natural resource managed through sustainable wild harvest and alligator farming.
The agency says Louisiana’s wild alligator population has grown from fewer than 100,000 animals to more than 3 million over the past 50 years.
That’s the conservation story behind the proposal. Louisiana’s alligator population recovered under regulated management, and the state is now considering a larger recreational harvest structure around that success.
What Happens Next
LDWF is taking public comment on the proposed rule through June 26, 2026. After that, the department can compile comments, send the required report to legislative oversight committees, and move toward final rules for the 2026 season.
For Louisiana hunters, the proposal could create a sizable new opportunity. For LDWF, it would add another harvest structure to one of the country’s most established alligator management programs.
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