BATON ROUGE - The cost of a basic Louisiana hunting license won't be going up.

Rep. Major Thibaut, a New Roads Democrat, had proposed to boost the license costs from $15 to $17 and use the money to combat problems with feral hogs. He shelved the measure Wednesday amid objections the money-raising effort was premature until a planned task force studies the best way to manage the feral hog population.

Before Thibaut scrapped the proposal, he received commitments from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries that it would steer money to the task.

Feral hogs wreak havoc on marshes, farm land and hunting acres. The hogs root up and eat crops, damage farm equipment and spread diseases to livestock and wildlife.

Thibaut says more focus is needed on limiting the animals' damage.