|
DEC Releases 2025 Hunting Safety Statistics; Season
Safest on Record
Published: March 23, 2026 05:15
p.m.
By: Press Release
from NYS DEC
DEC Releases 2025 Hunting Safety Statistics
2025 Season the Safest on Record
New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton
today announced another year of safe hunting. Hunting remains one of the
most popular forms of wildlife-related recreation in the state
with nearly 600,000 New Yorkers participating annually, helping
achieve State wildlife management objectives and safely enjoying time
outdoors.
“The historic low
number of incidents observed in 2025 demonstrates that hunting is safe and
is getting safer thanks to the efforts of DEC’s Hunter Education Program,
volunteer instructors, and the vigilance of New York’s hunters,” said
Commissioner Lefton. “In addition to being safe, hunting is
ecologically important, helping manage wildlife populations, promoting
conservation-related behaviors, and providing a local, affordable food
source. I am proud of our team’s efforts to grow New York’s hunting community.”
The 2025 hunting
season was the safest in New York’s recorded history. The total number of
hunting-related shooting incidents (HRSI) in 2025 was seven, five of which
were self-inflicted and two involved more than one person. One incident
involved an unlicensed individual who was hunting illegally. Fortunately,
there were no HRSI fatalities.
Many, if not all,
HRSIs can be prevented if people follow the primary rules of hunter
safety:
- Treat every firearm as if it were
loaded.
- Control the muzzle, always keep it pointed in
a safe direction.
- Identify your target and what lies beyond
it.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire.
- Wear hunter orange or pink.
DEC also
documented nine falls from tree stands or elevated platforms, including one
fatality. Like HRSIs, elevated hunting incidents (EHIs) can be avoided by
following simple safety measures. Hunters can prevent severe injuries
or death due to falls from tree stands or elevated platforms by wearing and
properly using a fall-arrest system (FAS). A FAS keeps a hunter attached to
the tree from the time they leave the ground until they get back
down. A harness only works if it is attached to the tree the entire
time the hunter is off the ground.
A FAS
includes:
- A full-body harness with shoulder, chest, and
leg straps;
- A strap that attaches to the tree when in the
stand;
- A tether strap that attaches the harness to
the tree strap;
- A “lifeline” to keep a hunter safe while
climbing and descending; and
- A suspension relief strap to be used in the
event of a fall.
DEC encourages
all New York hunters to Strap Up before you Go Up.
For more
information on hunter education courses and hunting safety statistics,
visit Hunter Education Program
webpage.
|
