Four youth from across the state had an opportunity to hunt for rabbits during a youth lottery rabbit hunt Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Dewey Wills WMA.
“The participants all said they had a good time, even though we didn’t get any rabbits” said WMA Biologist Supervisor Cliff Dailey. “The hunting dogs did flush a few rabbits, so they got to see some in the wild and they learned a lot about tracking rabbits and safe hunting practices. Safety was our number one goal of the day, with fun being a close second, and both were achieved.”
The four young hunters, each accompanied by an adult partner, gathered at the Dewey Wills WMA headquarters building at 6:30 a.m. for a safety briefing before heading out into a restricted portion of the WMA reserved just for their hunt. Trained hunting beagles were used to help locate and flush the rabbits.
Only youth hunters were allowed to fire, and they were accompanied throughout the hunt by their adult partner and LDWF personnel who offered hunting tips and guidance.
At the end of the hunt, the youth had the opportunity to shoot at clay target rabbits. “It’s not uncommon to not get a rabbit on the hunt, so we have the clay targets at the end so all of the youth hunters get an opportunity to fire their guns and get practice,” Dailey said. “They did great with the clay targets. The hope is that next time they get to hunt rabbits they will be able to do so safely and successfully.”
The youth lottery rabbit hunt is a new LDWF youth program. Other youth hunting programs include hunts for wild turkey, deer and waterfowl. Applicants must be 10 years of age or older, and youth ages 17 and under must obtain a youth hunting license. Participating youth must have completed hunter education training.
Those interested in participating in future youth rabbit hunts should contact Cliff Dailey at adailey@wlf.la.gov or come by the LDWF Pineville office, located at 1995 Shreveport Highway in Pineville. For more information on other LDWF lottery hunts, visit our website at https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/lottery-hunts.