DEC Contact: Benning DeLaMater (518) 402-8000 November 28, 2016
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DEC REMINDS HUNTERS TO FOLLOW SAFETY RULES THIS HUNTING SEASON |
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In the wake of a number of recent hunting-related shooting incidents, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos is reminding hunters to follow basic hunter safety rules when going afield this hunting season. “While statistics show that hunting in New York State is safer than ever, mistakes are made every year. But every hunting-related shooting incident is preventable,” Seggos said. “We urge hunters to use common sense and remember what they were taught in their DEC Hunters Education Course.” DEC’s Hunting Safety Rules:
DEC Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) are currently investigating two hunting-related shooting fatalities that occurred in the last week, both involving accidental shootings that could have been avoided. DEC requires every hunter to take a special Hunters Education Course before they can receive a license to hunt. Since New York’s Sportsman Education Program was first introduced in 1950, the number of hunting-related accidents have declined by 80 percent. A DEC report showed 2015 was the first year without a hunting-related shooting fatality in New York since record-keeping on hunting statistics began more than 60 years ago. 2015 also continued the trend of declining incidents with respect to New York's hunting-related shooting incident rate (incidents per 100,000 hunters). The past five-year average is down to four incidents per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per 100,000 hunters in the 1960s. There were 23 hunting incidents documented in 2015, the third lowest number on record, with 10 incidents self-inflicted and 13 two-party incidents. View and print the 2015 Hunter Safety Statistics report here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/nyhrsi2015.pdf |
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