Louisiana Hunters Can Track Wounded Deer With Dogs Under Rep. Jason DeWitt's Act 272

Since Aug. 1, 2024, Louisiana deer hunters who lose a wounded deer in the woods have been able to use lights and a blood-trailing dog to go after it. Act 272, by state Rep. Jason DeWitt, lets a licensed hunter or tracker pursue a deer that was legally shot and mortally wounded, using lights and a blood-trailing dog, and then dispatch the animal if it is found alive. As the fall deer seasons get going, here is how the law works.

DeWitt, a Republican, represents House District 25, and his official House page lists him as representing Natchitoches and Rapides parishes. Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill May 24, 2024, according to the bill history. A month later, in a June 24 release, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) thanked the governor, the Legislature and DeWitt for the bill's passage. The department described the act as one that "recognizes the ethical obligations of a hunter to recover game they have taken and provides for a legal method to do so."

The act's text sets out the details. The lights and the dog are allowed everywhere except wildlife management areas, which LDWF's release also notes. A tracking party can use no more than one dog in pursuit of the wounded deer, although a second dog may be used for deer retrieval training. The dog has to be on a handheld leash or wear a GPS tracking collar.

According to the bill's résumé digest, prior law required a dog to be leashed, and the new law removes the leash requirement when the dog has a GPS tracking collar. NOLA.com ran its June 2024 story under a headline saying the new law "loosens rules for dogs, hunters" and reported that previously only leashed dogs could be used for tracking.

The act also covers what happens when the hunter finds the deer. If the deer is discovered alive after legal hunting hours, the licensed hunter or tracker may dispatch it with a centerfire handgun that has a barrel no longer than six inches and a caliber no smaller than .25 and no larger than .45.

Property lines matter too. A hunter or tracker may pursue a mortally wounded deer onto private property only with the landowner's verbal or written permission.

LDWF said in its release that certain restrictions apply "to prevent the unlawful use of dogs to hunt deer and nighttime hunting activity." Among them, the department listed the one-dog limit, the leash or GPS collar rule, the handgun limits and the landowner permission requirement. The act applies only to a deer that was legally shot to begin with.

The House Natural Resources and Environment Committee reported House Bill 802 with amendments on April 3, 2024, by a vote of 12-0, and the House passed it 103-0 on April 9. The Senate Natural Resources Committee reported it favorably on May 1, and the full Senate passed it 36-1 on May 16. The floor votes were nearly unanimous, and the bill history lists Aug. 1, 2024, as the effective date.

DeWitt was elected to the House in 2023, according to his House page, which also lists the Natural Resources and Environment Committee among his assignments. The bill page lists him as the primary author. The act amended R.S. 56:116.3(G). Its full text is on the Legislature's website. LDWF's release lists the key limits in one place.

Bayou Weekly has also covered Louisiana's new recreational alligator season and Louisiana's first whistling duck season this fall.

Photo: Courtney Celley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.