Dept. of Game, Fish and Parks
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002
For more information:  Bill Shattuck, 773-4506

HUNTING ACCIDENTS INCREASE

PIERRE – Game, Fish and Parks officials say more people were injured in hunting accidents during the 2001 hunting seasons than last year, although the number still fell slightly below the ten-year average. 

Hunting Safety Specialist Bill Shattuck said there were 29 hunting accidents during 2001, slightly below the 10-year average of 29.5. Two accidents included fatalities, compared to none during the 2000 seasons. 

Pheasant hunters were most likely to be injured. Twenty-one of the twenty-nine accidents investigated involved pheasant hunters. In thirteen of those incidents, the shooter was not a resident of South Dakota.

In one of the fatal accidents, a beaver trapper’s rifle discharged when the trigger caught on a twig. In the other fatal incident, a 18-year-old Wisconsin pheasant hunter was killed when his dog jumped against him, pushed the man’s shotgun against his body, striking the trigger with its paw.

Despite the rise in accidents last year, hunting is still a very safe pastime, compared to many sporting and athletic activities. "Credit for this belongs to South Dakota’s nearly 400 volunteer Hunt Safe instructors, the 58 Wildlife Conservation Officers who assist them and the 100 Bowhunter Education instructors who teach hunter education courses," Shattuck said.

Participants in Hunt Safe and Bowhunter Education courses learn much more than how to safely handle firearms and other hunting implements. "They also learn wildlife management and the hunter’s responsibility to themselves, the land, other hunters, landowners and wildlife, including those species that are not hunted,"
Shattuck noted. He added that students are also introduced to the rich traditions of hunting that have helped shape our state and country.

During 2001, 3,600 students of all ages completed a Hunt Safe course in South Dakota. This brought the number of certified participants, since the course became mandatory in 1956, to 208,350. Since 1993, when bowhunter education became mandatory in South Dakota, bowhunter education instructors have qualified 12,431persons, including 1,353 people during 2001.

"It is a real success story," Shattuck said, "and the people of South Dakota owe those who have made it happen a sincere ‘Thank You.’ These instructors are volunteers in the finest tradition of that name, freely giving their time, talent and experience to make South Dakota a better place to live."

Most Hunt Safe and Bowhunter Education courses are held in the spring, summer and early fall. Persons interested in attending either course can contact their local conservation officer or Game, Fish and Parks office for further details.

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