2013 Continues Record Trend For Safe Hunting In New York

2013 was a safe year for New York hunters.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says the hunting season had the lowest number of hunter-related shooting incidents on record.

A total of 19 hunting accidents occurred last year, including two fatalities.

New York’s hunting incident rate (incidents per 100,000 hunters) has fallen by more than 70 percent since the 1960s. The past five-year average is down to 4.3 incidents per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per 100,000 in the 1960s.

DEC Commissioner Joe Martens says New York's sportsman education program is a key factor in the decline in the number of hunting accidents.

For more information on the DEC's Sportsman Education Program, visit www.dec.ny.gov.