The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation stated that 2021 was the safest year on record for hunters, with reduced numbers in hunting-related shooting and tree stand incidents.

There were nine hunting-related shooting incidents in 2021, compared to 22 in 2020. This was the fewest number of incidents since New York’s hunter safety program was introduced into law in 1949. The report includes hunting-related shooting incidents involving firearms, bows and crossbows. Seven of the nine incidents were two-party firearm incidents and two incidents were self-inflicted. All of the shooters were experienced hunters with an average of 40 years of hunting experience.

DEC stated none of the nine incidents involved 12 and 13 year-old hunters. The one (1) fatality in 2021 involved a deer hunter not wearing fluorescent clothing who was mistaken for game and was shot by his hunting partner. There were 10 documented/reported tree stand falls to DEC in 2021, compared to 13 in 2020. Of these, nine of the hunters were not wearing a safety harness and the one who was wearing one did not have it attached at the time of the fall.

Six of the tree stand incidents involved ladder stands and one involved a homemade stand. Another incident involved a climbing stand and the other two incidents happened to hunters using hang-on stands. There was one fatality which involved a hunter falling from a stand after suffering a cardiac arrest.

A DEC spokesperson said that while there is no requirement for hunters to report tree stands falls, DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement has increased efforts to investigate these falls and encourage hunters to report them.

DEC Law Enforcement and hunter educators have increased their outreach and education programs about tree stand safety but are still asking hunters to report their tree stand falls.

Deer Are Carrying Covid Virus!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is testing the white-tailed deer population as part of its national research on the spread of Covid-19 Virus among the species.

In a study released in July of this year, the Department of AG tested 481 deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania and found Covid-19 antibodies in 33 percent of the samples.

The study said it is not known how these deer were exposed to the virus, but it’s possible they were exposed through people, the environment, other deer, or another animal species.

The study stated that based on the available information, the risk of deer and other animals spreading the Covid-19 Virus to people is very low.