General Prohibition; Applications

PURPOSE: This rule prohibits the pursuit, taking, possession, or any use of wildlife except as provided in the Code. (1) No bird, fish, crayfish, mussel, amphibian, reptile, mammal, or other form of wildlife, including wildlife raised or held in captivity, or their homes, dens, nests, eggs, and larvae in Missouri shall be molested, pursued, taken, hunted, trapped, tagged, marked, enticed, poisoned, killed, transported, stored, served, bought, sold, given away, accepted, possessed, propagated, imported, exported, or liberated to the wild in any manner, number, part, parcel, or quantity, at any time, except as specifically permitted by these rules and any laws consistent with Article IV, sections 40–46 of the Constitution of Missouri; however, this Code shall not apply to other invertebrates except as specifically provided. (2) All hours and times listed in this Code shall be based on prevailing local time unless specifically designated otherwise. (3) Except as otherwise provided in this Code, wildlife may be taken only by holders of the prescribed permits and in accordance with prescribed methods. (4) Birds, game mammals, furbearers, fish, bullfrogs and green frogs, mussels, crayfish, and common snapping and soft-shelled turtles may be taken only within the limits and during the open seasons prescribed in this Code; provided, in a situation of emergency where the public interest justifies extraordinary salvage measures to prevent or minimize waste, the director may authorize the taking and possession of wildlife by provisions other than those established in this Code, for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days. (5) No person, corporation, municipality, county, business, or other public or private entity shall cause or allow any deleterious substance to be placed, run, or drained into any of the waters of this state in quantities sufficient to injure, stupefy, or kill fish or other wildlife which may inhabit such waters. (6) No person shall administer, by any means, any contraceptive or reproductive inhibitor to any species of wildlife outside of captivity in Missouri without written authorization of the director. (7) No person who takes or possesses any wildlife shall wantonly leave or abandon any portion of such wildlife commonly used as human food. (8) With landowner permission, any species listed in the Approved Aquatic Species List in 3 CSR 10-9.110 may be released into privately owned impoundments which are designated as waters of the state by virtue of having been stocked by the state, or because they are owned jointly, or as tenants in common or by corporate shareholders. Statewide seasons, methods, and limits for all species will apply to these waters. (9) The release of transgenic fish or wildlife into the wild is prohibited without written authorization of the director. Transgenic fish or wildlife may be possessed and used only as authorized by 3 CSR 10-9.110. AUTHORITY: sections 40 and 45 of Art. IV, Mo. Const. and section 252.040, RSMo 2000.* Original rule filed June 26, 1975, effective July 7, 1975. Amended: Filed July 15, 1976, effective Dec. 31, 1976. Amended: Filed April 20, 1978, effective Aug. 15, 1978. Amended: Filed July 15, 1978, effective Oct. 12, 1978. Amended: Filed July 30, 1979, effective Jan. 1, 1980. Amended: Filed Aug. 1, 1980, effective Jan. 1, 1981. Amended: Filed July 31, 1981, effective Jan. 1, 1982. Amended: Filed July 27, 1982, effective Jan. 1, 1983. Amended: Filed Aug. 1, 1983, effective Jan. 1, 1984. Amended: Filed Aug. 6, 1985, effective Jan. 1, 1986. Amended: Filed Aug. 7, 1986, effective Jan. 1, 1987. Amended: Filed July 30, 1987, effective Jan. 1, 1988. Amended: Filed Aug. 8, 1989, effective Jan. 1, 1990. Amended: Filed May 10, 1990, effective Jan. 1, 1991. Amended: Filed May 10, 1991, effective Jan. 1, 1992. Amended: Filed April 28, 1992, effective Feb. 26, 1993. Emergency amendment filed Dec. 29, 1992, effective Jan. 9, 1993, expired May 8, 1993. Emergency amendment filed April 28, 1993, effective May 9, 1993, expired June 7, 1993. Amended: Filed Dec. 29, 1992, effective June 7, 1993. Sections (5), (6), and (10) changed to 3 CSR 10-9.110, effective Jan. 31, 1994. Amended: Filed April 27, 1994, effective Jan. 1, 1995. Amended: Filed April 25, 1996, effective March 1, 1997. Amended: Filed June 27, 1996, effective March 1, 1997. Amended: Filed June 11, 1997, effective March 1, 1998. Amended: Filed June 11, 1998, effective March 1, 1999. Amended: Filed April 24, 2000, effective March 1, 2001. Amended: Filed Oct. 9, 2003, effective March 30, 2004. Amended: Filed Sept. 29, 2004, effective Feb. 28, 2005. Amended: Filed Sept. 14, 2005, effective Feb. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed May 25, 2012, effective Oct. 30, 2012. Amended: Filed June 13, 2014, effective Jan. 30, 2015. Amended: Filed Feb. 26, 2015, effective July 30, 2015. Amended: Filed Dec. 15, 2015, effective May 30, 2016. *Original authority: 252.040, RSMo 1945, amended 1989.