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LANSING--The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division reports the 1999 firearm deer season was a milestone for safe hunting in Michigan, with the fewest injuries ever recorded during a firearm deer hunting season.
During the 16-day season, which ended November 30, only 13 injuries were reported to state officials. Two of the injuries resulted in fatalities where hunters failed to obey a basic tenet of safe hunting--knowing their target and beyond. Of the remaining 11 non-fatal hunting-related injuries, seven were the result of self-inflicted wounds. For the second straight year, there were no reported incidents in the Upper Peninsula.
Previously, the safest season occurred during the 1996 firearm deer season, during which 16 injuries, including one fatality, were recorded. During last year^s firearm season, four fatalities and 17 non-fatal injuries occurred.
Although any fatality or injury related to hunting is tragic, these incidents generally are preventable. Credit for Michigan’s excellent safety record belongs to hunter education efforts, safety laws (especially hunter orange) and to those individuals who volunteer their time to instruct students or who work to enforce the natural resources laws. Most importantly, Michigan hunters, by observing the laws and safety guidelines, have contributed to the overall reduction in hunting-related injuries and in making Michigan one of the safest states in the nation in which to hunt.
Uploaded: 12/8/1999
Uploaded: 12/8/1999