BATON ROUGE, La. – With deer season underway across Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is reminding hunters to review updated bag limits, season dates, and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) regulations before heading into the field.
Louisiana is divided into 10 deer hunting areas, each with its own season dates and harvest limits. Hunters are encouraged to review the regulations specific to the area where they plan to hunt.
One of the primary regulation changes for the 2026-27 hunting season affects Deer Area 1, where hunters may now harvest no more than two antlered deer and no more than five antlerless deer.
The statewide season limit of six deer remains unchanged, although some deer areas have lower bag limits.
To accommodate the varying limits across Louisiana’s deer areas, hunters will receive six deer tags with their licenses. These include one antlered tag, two either-sex tags, and three antlerless tags.
Either-sex tags may be used for antlered or antlerless deer, provided the harvest remains within the limits established for the specific deer area.
Hunters can review season dates, deer area maps, and harvest regulations in the 2026-27 Louisiana Hunting and WMA Regulations.
LDWF is also reminding hunters to familiarize themselves with regulations governing Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zones.
For the current hunting season, baiting and supplemental feeding are permitted within CWD Management Zones through March 31.
However, whether baiting remains permitted in future seasons will depend on sampling results within each management zone.
Each zone must meet a CWD sampling goal of 145 deer while maintaining an apparent CWD prevalence below 2.5%.
If a management zone fails to meet its sampling goal or its apparent CWD prevalence exceeds 2.5%, baiting will be prohibited in that zone during the following hunting season.
LDWF emphasizes that every deer submitted for testing counts toward the sampling goal, making hunter participation an important factor in determining future baiting regulations.
Hunters harvesting deer within CWD Management Zones must also follow restrictions on transporting carcasses and carcass parts outside the designated zones.
Deer carcasses and carcass parts generally cannot be removed from a CWD Management Zone, with certain exceptions.
Permitted items include cut and wrapped or boned-out meat; quarters or other meat portions without any part of the spinal column or head attached; antlers; cleaned skull plates with antlers; cleaned skulls without tissue; capes; tanned hides; finished taxidermy mounts; and cleaned teeth.
Any permitted deer parts transported outside a management zone must be accompanied by a possession tag containing the hunter’s name, address, LDWF license number, parish of harvest, harvest date, and sex of the deer.
Hunters wishing to transport an uncleaned deer head to a Louisiana taxidermist may obtain a waiver from LDWF.
LDWF has also announced changes to CWD sample collection locations following adjustments to management zone boundaries.
Because CWD Management Zones are smaller this season, some previously designated sample drop-off coolers are no longer located within management zones.
Hunters are encouraged to verify current drop-off locations before submitting deer for testing.
Additional sample collection coolers are being installed at Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge in Avoyelles Parish and D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge in Ouachita and Union parishes.
LDWF continues to encourage hunters to participate in CWD testing to help meet sampling goals and support ongoing disease management efforts.
Hunters can find CWD Management Zone maps, sampling locations, transportation restrictions, and additional regulations on the LDWF Chronic Wasting Disease webpage.
Complete hunting season dates, deer area maps, and regulations are available through the LDWF website.
For additional information regarding deer hunting regulations, hunters may contact LDWF Deer Program Manager Brad Kennon at rkennon@wlf.la.gov.