Wild Hog Hunting in Louisiana: Season, Rules & Night Hunting (2026)
Louisiana classifies feral hogs as “outlaw quadrupeds” — a designation that reflects how aggressively the state wants the population controlled. A basic hunting license covers daylight hog hunting statewide year-round, and Louisiana has one of the more workable systems in the country for legal night hunting on private land, provided you follow its notification requirement.
Louisiana Wild Hog Hunting Rules
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Daylight season | Year-round, no closed season, with a valid Louisiana Basic Hunting License. |
| Night hunting (private land) | Allowed for the landowner, lessee, or an agent with the landowner’s written permission. Anyone hunting at night must notify the parish sheriff’s office 24 hours in advance, or immediately after taking a hog if advance notice wasn’t given. |
| Night hunting eligibility restriction | No one convicted of a Class 3 or greater wildlife violation in the previous five years (or otherwise prohibited from legally using a firearm) may participate in or be present during a nighttime hunt. |
| Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) | Hogs may be taken during any legal open hunting season by properly licensed/permitted hunters using gear legal for that season — except hog take is prohibited during nighttime raccoon season. |
Source: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). Regulations current as of mid-2026 — confirm current-year details in the LDWF hunting regulations pamphlet, and always complete the parish sheriff notification before any night hunt.
Where to Hunt
Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin and the bottomland swamps and bayous throughout the central and southern parishes hold some of the densest hog populations in the state, thriving in the same cypress-and-hardwood wetland habitat that makes the region famous for its scenery. Agricultural parishes in the northeast, particularly along the Mississippi River, also carry heavy hog pressure on cropland.
Methods That Work
Louisiana’s night-hunting notification system is straightforward once you understand it: call or notify the parish sheriff’s office 24 hours before you hunt (or immediately after taking a hog if you didn’t), and you’re covered for a legal after-dark hunt on private land with permission. Given the swampy terrain across much of the state’s best hog habitat, many hunters pair night hunts with airboats or mudboats to access hog travel corridors that aren’t reachable on foot.
See our caliber and rifle guide for setup advice suited to both daylight stand hunts and notification-based night hunts.
