Hold on to your seats, there are changes coming to Missouri hunting seasons in the new year.
The Missouri Department of Conservation recently released the turkey and deer hunting dates for the 2023-2024 season along with announcing regulation changes to the deer-hunting portions. Those changes include: a new firearms early antlerless portion, a new firearms CWD portion and changes to firearms antlerless permit numbers in most counties.
The Missouri Conservation Commission approved the hunting dates and regulations changes at its open meeting Dec. 2 in Jefferson City.
MDC's Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle stated in a news release that the changes to deer hunting regulations were motivated by the increase in deer populations throughout the state along with the spread of chronic wasting disease, also referred to as CWD.