04/26/2007
Kansas Governor Gives Novice Hunters Opportunities Afield
KANSAS — Governor Kathleen Sebelius recently signed a bill into law that gives novice hunters the chance to hunt under the supervision of an adult before completing a hunter education course.
Senate Bill 192 permits a person who is 16 years of age or older to obtain a one-time hunter education completion deferral before hunting. That deferral will be valid until the end of the current license year for which it was issued. Eligible individuals will be able to purchase an apprentice hunting license and a licensed adult at least 18 years of age must accompany the novice hunter.
In 2005, another Kansas state program began that allows licensed adults to supervise hunters under 16 years of age who have not completed an approved hunter education course. Before the young hunter becomes fully licensed, he or she would be required to complete a hunter education course.
Mentored hunting and eliminating age barriers that prevent people from hunting are key components of the Families Afield program. A partnership of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, Families Afield uses data from the Youth Hunting Report to help remove youth hunting barriers across the nation.
"Allowing young people to safely experience hunting with a mentor is the best way to make them appreciative of the hunting tradition," said Rob Keck, NWTF CEO. "Getting them interested in hunting at an early age will not only prepare them for hunter education courses, but lays the foundation for being good conservationists."
The Youth Hunting Report, written by Silvertip Productions, USSA and Southwick Associates Inc., found that some states experience better recruitment and retention of new hunters than others. They do so by permitting parents to decide when their sons and daughters are ready to hunt, and allow potential hunters to try hunting under the watchful eye of a mentor before completing a hunter education course.
The Youth Hunting Report also shows youth hunters are the safest hunters in the woods when accompanied by an adult. The findings were peer reviewed for statistical validity by the Triad Research Group. For more information on hunting safety data and the Youth Hunting Report, log on to www.familiesafield.org.
To date, 12 states have approved Families Afield legislation and regulations and half of those states have already measured the program's performance and report a significant climb in new hunters. Data available from Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Ohio reveals that apprentice hunting license programs brought nearly 34,000 new hunters to the field without a single hunting-related shooting incident.
The 12 states that have changed laws and regulations to create additional hunting opportunities for youth and novice hunters are:
Florida
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Utah
