Thousands of people will be allowed to kill alligators for sport in the US state of Louisiana this October, under a new recreational hunting programme.
Louisiana is introducing a separate recreational alligator hunting season for the first time. The hunt will run from 1 to 31 October 2026.
The state plans to select 5,000 hunters through a lottery. Each successful hunter will receive two tags, meaning the programme could result in up to 10,000 alligators being killed.
People had until 30 August to enter the lottery.
Louisiana already allows alligators to be killed as part of a large commercial industry. The new programme is different because it gives recreational hunters the chance to kill the animals for sport.
Alligators will be caught on hooks
There are rules for the new hunt. Hunters cannot simply shoot alligators they see swimming in the water. Instead, bait must be placed on a hook attached to a strong line. When an alligator takes the bait, the animal becomes caught on the line.
Hunters must then kill the captured alligator. A firearm can be used for this.
The state also requires hunters to make an effort to keep the meat for human consumption. The animals killed during the recreational hunt cannot be sold commercially.
People who want to take part need hunting licences as well as the special alligator tags.
American alligator population
Louisiana’s decision comes after a remarkable recovery in the state’s American alligator population.
Alligators were once hunted heavily for their skins and meat. Louisiana stopped alligator hunting in 1962 after the population fell below 100,000 animals.
The American alligator was also given federal protection in the United States.
As numbers recovered, Louisiana gradually brought back regulated commercial hunting. The department describes the recovery of the American alligator as a conservation success. But the animals’ recovery is now also being used as a reason to kill more of them.
Louisiana officials say the population is now large enough to support recreational hunting as well as commercial hunting.
“There are too many alligators,” Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Tyler Bosworth said when the lottery opened.
According to Bosworth, there are around three million alligators in Louisiana’s coastal areas alone.
The state says the new hunt can help manage the growing population without damaging the existing commercial alligator industry. That industry is worth more than $250 million a year to Louisiana, according to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
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