Using lead shot will now be considered foul play in upcoming turkey seasons, for 16 key conservation areas across the state.
The Missouri Department of Conservation is now requiring turkey hunters to use nontoxic shot for shotguns on these conservation areas. Joe Jerek, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said using lead shot can cause problems for animals.
"We’re looking at these key conservation areas and finding there is an incredible amount of lead shot that’s left. So those game birds and even other animals can ingest that and that ends up killing them, making them sick. It’s a growing problem in a sense."
This is not the first time the use of lead shot has been prohibited. In 1991, a federal ban was implemented on lead shot for waterfowl. The use of nontoxic shot is becoming more common for animals such as pigeon and deer.
These bans are also in place to protect hunters from accidently ingesting lead left in the animals.
Correction (March 7, 2019 at 11:45 a.m.): This story has been updated to reflect that new lead shot requirements are being implemented only on 16 conservation areas across the state. This is not a blanket requirement across the state.