DEC Announces Zero Hunting Fatalities in 2015 Season

RESS RELEASE

DEC Announces Zero Hunting Fatalities in 2015 Season

2015 is the first year in decades without a reported fatality, marks growing

trend of improved hunter safety.

The 2015 New York hunting season proved to be one of the safest on record

and yielded the first year without a hunting-related shooting fatality since the

1950s, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today. DEC's 2015 Hunting

Safety Statistics report (PDF, 141 KB) highlighted a total of only 23 hunting

incidents, the third lowest number on record, with 10 incidents self-inflicted and

13 two-party incidents.

"Hunting is a strong and economically important tradition that continues to be

safely enjoyed by many in New York State, and I commend hunters of all ages

for maintaining high standards in hunting safety," Acting Commissioner Seggos

said. "The trend of declining hunting accidents is proof that our hunter safety

education programs are working thanks, in large part, to the efforts of the 3,000

volunteer Sportsman Education Instructors that teach our hunter safety courses

every year."

This is the first year without a hunting-related shooting fatality in New York

since record-keeping on hunting statistics began in the mid 1950s. 2015 also

continued the trend of declining incidents with New York's hunting-related

shooting incident rate (incidents per 100,000 hunters) declining almost 80

percent since the 1960s. The past five-year average is down to four incidents

per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per 100,000 hunters in the 1960s.

While hunting is safer than ever, accidents can still happen. It is important to

remember that every hunting-related shooting incident is preventable. As this

year's report indicated that eight of the victims in the multi-party incidents were

not wearing hunter orange. Accidents can be prevented if hunters follow the

primary rules of hunter safety:

assume every firearm is loaded;

control the firearm muzzle in a safe direction;

keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire;

identify your target and what is beyond; and

wear hunter orange.

"Sportsman education is an essential and required training course for hunters

and teaches future sportsmen and women how to be safe, responsible, and

ethical hunters and trappers," Acting Commissioner Seggos said. "Through our

NY Open for Fishing and Hunting Initiative, Sportsman Education Programs are

being enhanced and our hunting license privileges have been updated to

ensure increased opportunities for recreational hunting in the state."

The declining in hunting-related accidents is evidence that New York has a

safety-conscious generation of hunters thanks to the committed efforts of

DEC's volunteer instructors. These trained, DEC-certified instructors teach

safe, responsible and ethical outdoor practices and the important roles hunters

and trappers serve in natural resource conservation. All courses are offered

free of charge and class registration is easy. In 2016, DEC is updating the

course curriculum to further enhance the program and implement

recommendations identified in a 2015 peer-reviewed analysis if New York's

education program.

For more information on Sportsman Education course registration, access to

the course manuals and worksheets, please visit the Sportsman Education

Program webpage on DEC's web site.

DEC Announces Zero Hunting Fatalities in 2015 Season
04/01/16 08:30am

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