Free Republic

Anglers and hunters often wonder if the fish and game seized by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries during busts and raids ends up stuffed in zipper bags in agents' freezers. That would be a nice fringe benefit of the job, but it's not the case, according to Adam Einck, media relations director for the department's enforcement division. Actually what's seized in the woods and on the water is tightly regulated, and ends up in different places depending on the type of bust. In a commercial case, like the one involving shrimpers Monday on Lake Pontchartrain, the seized goods...

Southcentral, Southeast Louisiana hit particularly hard, LDWF veterinarian says. Hunters could see sick deer this season, as hemorrhagic disease makes its way through the deer herd. The LDWF said deer in Southcentral and Southeast Louisiana have been particularly hard hit. LouisianaSportsman.com user “papa-p” was shocked when he checked his trail camera recently and found a photo of what could only be described as a very sick deer. “Hate seeing this picture on trail cam,” papa wrote on Oct. 12. “We had also found a young deer dead last month.” User “sportsman0917” worried it could be chronic wasting disease spreading from...

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and Bossier City Police Department (BPPD) responded to a call on Sunday, Nov. 30 that a cougar had been spotted in a residential neighborhood in Bossier City. LDWF’s efforts to immobilize the 125-pound cat with a tranquilizer dart were not immediately successful and BPPD officers shot the animal to minimize the possible threat to public safety. The state’s third documented cougar sighting in three months was witnessed by neighbors in Bossier City, as well as law enforcement officers, state biologists and news media representatives. The cougar was discovered in the same neighborhood...