40 Miss. Code. R. § 2-5.3 - ALLIGATOR HUNTING SEASON FOR PUBLIC WATERS
A. An
American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) hunting season will be opened
in the public waterways of the State of Mississippi and is hereby referred to
as the following with described restrictions.
1. Legal public water for public water
alligator hunting shall be any "public waterway", as designated by the
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and all associated
portions of each designated public waterway drainage that are not privately
owned and which have navigable access from the designated waterway.
2. Legal public water, as described above,
will be open for alligator hunting from 12 p.m. on the last Friday in August
and ending at 12 p.m. on the Monday, 10 days thereafter, for persons issued
special permits as described below.
3. PUBLIC WATERWAY HUNTING ZONE DESCRIPTIONS:
a. Pearl River/Ross Barnett Zone - The public
waters of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District only within the area
north of a line from Fannin Landing to Channel Marker "A" to the Natchez Trace
Overlook on the main lake of Ross Barnett Reservoir, and south of Lowhead Dam
on the Pearl River (excluding all areas of the main lake that are west of the
Natchez Trace, i.e. North Bay and Twin Harbors). All other portions of Ross
Barnett Reservoir are closed to alligator hunting including Pelahatchie
Bay.
b. Northwest Zone - North of
US Hwy. 82 and west of Interstate 55.
c. West Central Zone - South of US Hwy. 82,
west of Interstate 55, and north of Interstate 20.
d. Northeast Zone - East of Interstate 55,
north of Interstate 20, and excluding the area described as the Pearl
River/Ross Barnett Zone. This zone does not include any portion of the Ross
Barnett Reservoir, except portions of the Pearl River south of the spillway,
north of Lowhead Dam, and Pelahatchie Creek east of Highway 471 are included in
the Northeast Zone only. All other portions of Ross Barnett Reservoir are
closed to alligator hunting including Pelahatchie Bay.
e. Southwest Zone - South of Interstate 20
and west of Interstate 55.
f. South
Central Zone - South of Interstate 20, west of MS Hwy 49, east of Interstate
55.
g. Southeast Zone - South of
Interstate 20 and east of MS Hwy 49.
4. Public Waters shall include the following
lakes of Mississippi within each of open hunting zones and no other land locked
lakes shall be open:
a. Lake Ferguson
(Washington County) in the Northwest Zone
b. Beulah Lake (Bolivar County) in the
Northwest Zone
c. Lake Bolivar
(Bolivar County) in the Northwest Zone
d. Lake Whittington (Bolivar County) in the
Northwest Zone
e. Eagle Lake
(Warren County) in the West Central Zone
f. Chotard Lake (Warren and Issaquena
Counties) in the West Central Zone
g. Albemarle Lake (Issaquena County) in the
West Central Zone
h. Tennessee Lake
(Issaquena County) in the West Central Zone
i. Lake Washington (Washington County) in the
West Central Zone
j. Bee Lake
(Holmes County) in the West Central Zone
k. Little Eagle Lake (Humphreys County) in
the West Central Zone
l. Dump Lake
(Yazoo County) in the West Central Zone
m. Lake George (Yazoo County) in the West
Central Zone
n. Tchula Lake aka
"Tchula Run" (Holmes County) in the West Central Zone
o. Lake Mary (Wilkinson County) in the
Southwest Zone
p. Okatibbee Lake
(Lauderdale County) in the Northeast Zone
q. Crystal Lake (Rankin County) in the
Northeast Zone
B. APPLICATIONS:
1. Applications will be accepted by an
electronic web-based process via the Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) website only.
a.
Applicants must resident at least 16 years of age or older.
b. Applicants who possess a Lifetime License
are eligible to apply.
c.
Applicants must possess a valid pre-requisite license to apply.
d. Dates of application acceptance will be
announced on the MDWFP website.
e.
An electronic processing fee may be charged.
f. Persons are limited to one (1) application
each.
g. The applicant is
responsible for providing a correct email address during the application
process.
h. The email address
provided by the applicant will be the method of notifications from the MDWFP,
to notify drawn applicants, and for important messages and documents.
C. PERMITS:
1. Only residents of the State of Mississippi
who are sixteen (16) years of age or older may purchase an Alligator Possession
Permit (Permit) (see License Requirements).
2. Non-residents may participate as alligator
hunting assistants (see License Requirements).
3. Persons must have a valid resident
Mississippi hunting license and a Mississippi Alligator Hunting License to
purchase a permit.
4. Any Lifetime
License holder may purchase a Permit.
5. Alligator permits and/or licenses are
required of anyone 16 years of age or older. There are no exemptions for over
65 years of age or physical disability.
6. Permits will be available for purchase
only by persons who have successfully made application for a permit in a zone
and have been drawn by the MDWFP alligator hunting permit drawing
system.
7. All persons drawn for a
permit will be notified by email, as provided by the applicant, and permits
must be purchased electronically as directed by the Department. The applicant
is responsible for providing a correct email address during the application
process.
8. All permit sales
require immediate payment prior to the deadline, as directed by the Department
and all sales are non-refundable and non-transferable.
9. Persons are limited to one (1) permit per
person.
D. TRAINING
COURSE:
The Mississippi Alligator Hunting Training Course is strongly encouraged. The Mississippi Alligator Hunting Training Course is provided online via the MDWFP Alligator Program Webpage at www.mdwfp.com/alligator.
E. HUNTING REGULATIONS: (All
Zones)
1. Persons eligible: Only residents of
the State of Mississippi who are sixteen (16) years of age or older may apply
for an Alligator Possession Permit (see License Requirements). Non-residents
may participate as alligator hunting assistants (see License
Requirements).
2. Bag limit: Each
person receiving an Alligator Possession Permit will be allowed to harvest two
(2) alligators four (4) feet in length or longer, only one (1) of which may
exceed seven (7) feet in length.
3.
Capture and Dispatch Methods:
a. Use of bait
is prohibited.
b. Alligators must
be captured alive prior to shooting or otherwise dispatching the animal. It is
unlawful to shoot or kill an unrestrained alligator.
c. Restrained is defined as an alligator that
has a noose or snare secured around the head, neck, or leg in a manner that the
alligator is controlled.
d. Capture
methods are restricted to hand-held snares, snatch hooks (handheld or
rod/reel), harpoons (with attached line/buoy), and bowfishing equipment
(longbows, recurve bows, compound bows, or crossbows w/ line attached from bow
to arrow or line/buoy, bowfishing arrow tips only, no broadheads, and no tips
containing cartridges, or other explosive devises).
e. The use of fishing lures or other devices
(with hooks attached) for the purpose of catching alligators in the mouth is
prohibited.
f. All alligators must
be dispatched or released immediately after capture and prior to
transporting.
g. Any alligator that
is captured with a harpoon or bowfishing equipment must be reduced to the bag
and may not be released.
h.
Firearms used for dispatching an alligator are restricted to long-barreled,
shoulder-fired shotguns with only shot size #6, #7, #7.5, #8, or #9 ammunition
and bangsticks chambered in .38 caliber or larger. No pistols or rifles are
allowed.
i. All shotguns and
bangsticks must be cased and unloaded at all times until a restraining line has
been attached to the alligator.
j.
No other firearm or ammunition may be in possession of the permittee or hunting
party.
k. No firearm or bangstick
may be discharged within 100 yards of any residence, building, boat ramp, or
occupied campsite.
l. Any person or
vessel that possesses equipment used to capture or harvest an alligator must be
in the immediate vicinity of a person who possesses a valid Alligator
Possession Permit at any time while located in the hunting area. To do
otherwise is illegal and considered hunting without a permit.
m. The possession of alcohol or alcoholic
beverages is prohibited for any person in the act of alligator hunting, nor may
it be contained in any vessel in the act of alligator hunting. It is prohibited
to be in the act of alligator hunting while under the influence of intoxicating
beverages.
n. Nothing within this
Rule shall supersede any other municipal laws, including discharge of firearms
within a municipality.
o. No person
may hunt alligators within any public lake or pond that the governing entity
does not specifically allow alligator hunting (i.e. state parks, state lakes,
state wildlife management areas, federal refuges, municipal lakes and parks,
etc.). However, public waterways, as designated by the MDEQ, that exist within
MDWFP operated WMAs are not closed to alligator hunting, unless specifically
noted.
p. The use of drones, UAVs
(unmanned aerial vehicles), or any remotely operated vehicle or vessel to
assist in the location, pursuit, and/or take of alligators is
prohibited.
F. HARVEST REPORTING AND TAGGING:
1. TAGGING:
a. Two Temporary Possession Tags will be
provided with the purchase of an Alligator Possession Permit.
b. The Temporary Alligator Possession Tags
are not valid without a current Alligator Possession Permit.
c. A Temporary Alligator Possession Tag must
be signed and attached to the alligator's leg immediately after being
dispatched and prior to moving or transporting.
d. Alligators must have a federal CITES tag
attached before transferring the alligator or alligator parts to the possession
of another person/buyer in another state.
2. ONLINE REPORTING:
a. Each permittee must submit an on-line
harvest report and survey via www.mdwfp.com.
b. A report must be completed within 24 hours
of harvest of any and each alligator.
c. Failure to comply will result in loss of
alligator hunting privileges the following year.
d. Federal CITES tags will be mailed to
permittees upon receipt of a completed Harvest Report.
G. LICENSE AND PERMIT
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Alligator Hunting Permittee:
a. All alligator hunting permittees (permit
holder) must purchase and have on their person an Alligator Hunting License and
Alligator Possession Permit.
b. In
addition, a combination resident hunting/fishing license is required to
purchase the Alligator Possession Permit and Alligator Hunting License. For the
purpose of this Rule, all Lifetime Licenses are considered a combination
hunting/fishing license.
i. Residents 65
years of age or older may possess a Senior Exempt Lifetime License in lieu of a
combination hunting/fishing license.
ii. Residents who meet disability license
exemptions may possess a Disabled Exempt License in lieu of a combination
hunting/fishing license.
iii.
Lifetime License holders are exempt from the $25 Alligator Hunting
License
c. The cost of
the Alligator Hunting License is twenty-five dollars ($25).
d. The cost of the Alligator Possession
Permit is two hundred dollars ($200).
e. A "WMA User Permit" is required for all
persons, unless otherwise exempt, who are accessing a public waterway via any
Department operated Wildlife Management Area.
f. All alligator licenses and permits are
non-refundable and non-transferable.
2. Alligator Hunting Assistant:
a. Anyone, any age, resident or non-resident
may participate as an alligator hunting assistant of a permit holder, as
provided below:
i. All residents in the
hunting party who are sixteen (16) years of age or older are required to
purchase and have on their person a combination hunting/fishing license and an
Alligator Hunting License. For the purpose of this Rule, all Lifetime Licenses
are considered a combination hunting/fishing license. There are no
exemptions.
ii. Any non-residents
in the hunting party who are sixteen (16) years of age or older are required to
purchase and have on their person a Non-resident-All Game Hunting License and
an Alligator Hunting License. For the purpose of this Admin Rule, all Lifetime
Licenses are considered a combination hunting/fishing license. There are no
exemptions.
iii. Residents 65 years
of age or older may possess a Senior Exempt Lifetime License in lieu of a
combination hunting/fishing license.
iv. Residents who meet disability license
exemptions may possess a Disabled Exempt License in lieu of a combination
hunting/fishing license.
v.
Lifetime License holders are exempt from the $25 Alligator Hunting
License
b. A "WMA User
Permit" is required for all persons, unless otherwise exempt, who are accessing
a public waterway via any Department operated Wildlife Management
Area.
c. All alligator licenses and
permits are non-refundable and non-transferable.
H. Any person who hunts or
attempts to hunt alligators without obtaining a permit and/or is not hunting
within the immediate vicinity of a permit holder as per regulations set forth
herein shall be guilty of a Class I violation of MISS. CODE ANN. §
49-7-47
and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in MISS. CODE. ANN. §
49-7-141.
I. Any violation of any other provision of
this Rule shall be a Class III violation and punishable as provided in Miss.
Code. Ann. §
49-7-101.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.