While the Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership (the Partnership) encourages private landowners to work together on trapping efforts to eliminate feral hogs, federal and state officials assure landowners feral hog hunting closures and opportunistic take regulations do not apply to private lands.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) says the US Forest Service (USFS) moved forward with prohibiting the hunting of feral hogs on public land in the Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) in December to allow trapping of hogs to be more effective.
With the USFS’s closure of feral hog hunting in MTNF, it also was announced the allowance of opportunistic take of feral hogs in the MTNF during all deer and turkey hunting seasons. Most public land agencies closed feral hog hunting in 2016, including MDC due to the ineffectiveness of recreational hog hunting at eliminating feral hog populations.
Shortly after the MTNF announcement, the Conservation Commission directed MDC to propose regulation changes identical to the USFS regulation to ensure consistency of feral hog regulations on USFS and MDC managed lands. The Commission initially approved the proposed regulation at its January 2020 commission meeting. The changes would allow hunters with the proper unfilled deer or turkey hunting permit to take feral hogs during all deer and turkey hunting seasons and will include a formal public comment period on the rule-makings. Comments may be made on any proposed regulation on MDC’s website.
The Commission will consider public comments at its May 2020 meeting; and if approved, the regulation would go into effect August 31- in time for the 2020 fall deer and turkey seasons. The USFS announcement is effective immediately.

Photo courtesy the Missouri Department of Conservation.