Pennsylvania
Mentored Youth Hunting Bill
By:
Zack Good
House
Bill 485 has been introduced and this legislation if passed would make the
Pennsylvania mentored hunting program to be in the age group of 12-17. April 26th
the House Fish and Game Committee will go over this bill. Right now the
mentored youth program is for those under 12. There is also a program that is
like this for people are the age 18 and older. With this bill those who are
12-17 would not be required to complete a hunter safety program in order to
hunt. It is true that the mentored youth program has had positive outcomes,
allowing someone to experience and understand hunting at a young age. The
question will changing the age for mentored youth do more harm than good?
The
person who mentors the youth has to be a licensed hunter of the age 21 or
older. The youth that is going to be in this program needs to obtain a permit
to continue with the hunt. When the child is hunting they have to stay still
when in possession of a weapon. Whoever is mentoring the youth is they only one
who able to move while carrying the firearm and then provide the youth with it
when stationary. While mentoring the adult is not able to do so with more than
one youth or junior hunter. Only one hunting tool is permitted to be taken when
going on a mentored youth hunt. As for anyone else they both need to be wearing
the proper amount of fluorescent orange for that specific hunting season. There
has been a lot of success with this program, as it is known as well youth
hunters experience the fewest amount of hunting accidents. But this bill should
not be extended to the ages of 12-17.
The
House Bill 485 is supposedly supposed to fix a loophole in the current mentored
program that doesn’t allow those of ages 12-17 to participate. It can be
thought to be a barrier to participate in the hunter and trapper safety program,
but that is far from what it is. It cannot be denied that yes the mentored
youth program is very successful, but going through a safety course is very essential.
When someone is from the ages of 12-17 that is a very important time period in
order to retain information. Being required to take that hunter safety course
at a young age provides future hunters with the knowledge to hunt safely and
use that information in the future.
One argument
that could be made is that by this bill being signed into law could potentially
decrease the amount of hunting accidents. The fact of the matter is thanks to
the hunter safety courses there has been a tremendous decrease in the amount of
hunting fatalities. In recent years for example 2012 it was found that there
were actually no hunting fatalities in the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania
has the second highest of the amount of license sales in the country, and it is
really extraordinary to see that there is very few accidents. Due to the hunter
safety program shooting related incidents have actually decrease by 80 percent.
Before this mandatory program in one year on average there were at least 60
deaths. With that being said it is very much needed in order for young people
to participate in the course, teaching them how to be safe for the future.
While
the mentored youth do have someone that is licensed accompanying them that
person alone may not be able to teach them all the proper regulations. Before
someone becomes of the age of an adult and can hunt alone, it is good that a
requirement is to take the course while still being accompanied. The people who
take the hunter safety course from the ages of 12-17 still cannot hunt alone.
With hunting with a adult and having their own knowledge from the course would
greatly increase the chances of safety.
Extending
the age of the mentored youth program may seem to be a good idea due to all its
success, there are many outlying issues. It has been shown throughout the years
that these young hunters taking the course has done a lot of good for all
hunters. There are proven instances on how much safer the woods have become
from taking the hunter safety course. The age should stay at 12 for the
mandatory course, and will create great and safe hunters for future yars to
come.
References
Goodman,
Neal P., and Keith Gillespie. "Expand PA's Mentored Hunting Programs to
Include Junior Hunters." Legis.state.pa.us. House of Representatives, 16
Dec. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
<http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20170&cosponId=21302>.
Hayes,
John. "For first time ever, no hunting related shooting fatalities in
Pennsylvania." Post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12 May 2013.
Web. 25 Apr. 2017. <http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/hunting-fishing/2013/05/12/For-first-time-ever-no-hunting-related-shooting-fatalities-in-Pennsylvania/stories/201305120207/>.
National
Rifle Association. "Pennsylvania: Youth Mentor Hunting Legislation Goes
Before Committee Tomorrow." Nraila.org. 25 Apr. 2017. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
<https://www.nraila.org/articles/20170425/pennsylvania-youth-mentor-hunting-legislation-goes-before-committee-tomorrow>.
Pennsylvania
Game Commission. "Mentored Youth Hunting." Pgc.gov. 2017. Web. 25
Apr. 2017. <www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/Law/Documents/2016-17 Hunting
Trapping>.
Hi Zack, I support the mentor hunt program. It is a great youth initiative program. That sad truth is, hunters are in the decline. Less than 1 and 10 Americans hunt. The only way there are going to be more hunters are from the current hunters. As a proud Pennsylvania hunter, one of my favorite things to do is to take people with me when I hunt. I really enjoy teaching and sharing my passion of hunting. That’s what the hunting heritage is all about! Taking those traditions and passing them on; continuing the legacy. I think this is a great bill. I am in full support.
ReplyDeleteHey there Zack, mentor hunt program is a great program it allows hunters to become teachers to the youth of today. It is very true like brandon stated above the decline in hunters is kind of scary and we need to make a difference in the youth today and get them out there in the woods and show them how much fun and humbling slinging some lead is. One regret i have about myself is not getting my younger brother into it when he was younger. I have recently been taking him out shooting with me to get him more comfortable with shooting and hopefully this year he will buy a license and come out with me!
ReplyDeleteHey Zack, I support the mentor hunt program, it is a great opportunity to allow hunters to be able to teach the youth. Like Brandon have said, there are becoming fewer and fewer hunting in this generations. This could because of there are more and more videos games in the world. I enjoyed going out hunting with my dad hunting and learning new things that I did not know about. If I had a younger brother, I would take him out and teach him about the heritage of hunting. I fully support this bill, hopefully it gets passed!
ReplyDeleteI had heard a little about House Bill 485 but not very much. I am glad that someone wrote an article about it because I was interesting in learning more. I feel that it is very important that hunters learn as many things as they can while they are young. The experience a young hunter gains helps them exponentially. I think that it is very important that young hunters attend Hunter Safety Courses. Like you said, Hunter Safety Course reduce hunting accidents. It will be interesting to see how this bill moves forward.
ReplyDeleteHi Zack, I am a supporter of the mentor hunt program because it gives the young kids the opportunity to hunt. It's sad to see that less and less youth participate in hunting each year because being out in the outdoors is the greatest experience and those are memories a kid will never forget. I will never forget the memories from the first time my dad took me out hunting.
ReplyDeleteNice post Zach! I agree with you, the mentor hunter is great. I support this all the way. Getting kids to hunt at a young age is awesome. It really helps that they take the hunter safety course because, like you mentioned, it helps reduce hunting accidents. I learned a lot about hunting from the hunter safety course and also from hunting with my dad at a young age. He taught me how to be safe while hunting and how to have fun while hunting which is very important. I hope this bill gets passed because I strongly agree with it!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the youth mentored hunting age should be extended to allow people up to 17 to participate. Pennsylvania's youth hunting program helps our youth to become interested in hunting without having to take the hunter safety course and fully commit to becoming a hunter. After participating in the mentored youth program many youths take the hunter safety course so that they can get their own license. However, there are some youths that do not get a chance to be mentored prior to age 12 as they do not have anyone that they know who is willing to take them. By extending the youth mentoring age to 17 these youths will get the chance to be mentored before making their decision on whether or not they want to be hunters.
ReplyDelete