Connecticut hunters among the safest in the nation

[Skunk]

Hunters Stayed Safe in 2009

Karen Hunter, Reader Representative, the Hartford Courant

January 25, 2010

Here's some good news: Only the deer got shot during deer-hunting season.

Hunters in Connecticut enjoyed a second consecutive deer season without a firearm-related injury during the firearms hunting seasons, which ended on Dec. 31, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection (bowhunting continues this month in some areas). Considering that more than 64,000 deer hunting permits are issued each year and deer hunters spend nearly 450,000 days in this small state's shrinking fields and woodlands, this is a notable and important accomplishment. The only injury reported in 2009 involved a fall from a tree stand. (There was one pheasant hunting injury, the DEP acknowledged.)

DEP official Charles Bruckerhoff said part of the reason for the clean record was the state's mandatory firearms education regimen, which he said has produced a safety-conscious generation of hunters.

Keep up the good work. We recall all too well the tragic accidental killings of a DEP conservation officer, an off-duty police officer and a jogger by hunters during the 1990s. That today's hunters are working hard to identify targets and take other safety measures speaks well for them and for the state's outdoor recreation programs.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-deer-hunters-safe.artjan25,0,6049302.column