Regulations
Why we need regulations
With our rich abundance of fish, wildlife and forests, it's hard to imagine that Missouri ever suffered a lack of natural resources. But by 1936, many wildlife species, including deer, turkey, raccoon and many kinds of fish, had nearly disappeared from our state due to overhunting and overharvesting. Sportsmen responded by organizing efforts that led to the establishment of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Since then our agency has worked to ensure that all native wildlife species and all kinds of wildlife habitat remain abundant, generation after generation.
Thanks in part to carefully crafted regulations, Missourians have brought species such as deer and wild turkey back from the edge of extinction, and skillful management has sustained other wild creatures that otherwise might have slipped away.
A major part of managing our wildlife is regulating what, how, where and when we may hunt. That’s where the Wildlife Code comes in. The Wildlife Code of Missouri is a permissive code. A permissive code means that rather than giving you an endless list of “thou shalt nots,” we keep it simple by telling you what you may do. You may take or attempt to take only those animals and furbearers permitted by the Code, and only by methods, and only at the times and under the circumstances mentioned in the Code.
These regulations are necessary to protect and manage Missouri’s abundant game and furbearer populations and to make access to Missouri hunting and trapping as fair and as simple as possible.
