ALBANY — The state Department of Environmental Conservation on Monday released safety statistics for the 2025 hunting season.
The numbers are good news: it was New York’s safest season since the DEC began keeping official records in 2001, according to DEC spokesman Jeff Wernick. This metric is driven by the total number of hunting-related shooting incidents (HRSI), which the DEC has been keeping track of since the 1960s, well before it formalized its current records system.
In 2025, there were seven HRSIs, five of which were self-inflicted and two involved more than one person. One incident involved an unlicensed individual who was hunting illegally. Of those seven HRSIs, there were zero fatalities this season, according to the DEC.
Hunting remains one of the most popular forms of wildlife-related recreation in the state, the DEC noted, with nearly 600,000 New Yorkers participating annually. This helps achieve state wildlife management objectives as hunters safely enjoy their time outdoors.
DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton heralded the statistics.
“The historic low number of incidents observed in 2025 demonstrates that hunting is safe and is getting safer thanks to the efforts of DEC’s Hunter Education Program, volunteer instructors and the vigilance of New York’s hunters,” she said in a statement. “In addition to being safe, hunting is ecologically important, helping manage wildlife populations, promoting conservation-related behaviors, and providing a local, affordable food source. I am proud of our team’s efforts to grow New York’s hunting community.”
Many, if not all, HRSIs can be prevented if people follow the primary rules of hunter safety:
– Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
– Control the muzzle, always keep it pointed in a safe direction.
– Identify your target and what lies beyond it.
– Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire.
– Wear hunter orange or pink.
DEC also documented nine falls from tree stands or elevated platforms, including one fatality. Like HRSIs, elevated hunting incidents (EHIs) can be avoided by following simple safety measures.
Hunters can prevent severe injuries or death due to falls from tree stands or elevated platforms by wearing and properly using a fall-arrest system (FAS).
A FAS keeps a hunter attached to the tree from the time they leave the ground until they get back down. A harness only works if it is attached to the tree the entire time the hunter is off the ground.
A FAS includes:
– A full-body harness with shoulder, chest, and leg straps;
– A strap that attaches to the tree when in the stand;
– A tether strap that attaches the harness to the tree strap;
– A “lifeline” to keep a hunter safe while climbing and descending; and
– A suspension relief strap to be used in the event of a fall.
For more information on hunter education courses and hunting safety statistics, visit tinyurl.com/mr9drs98.
