New York State is proposing changes to deer and bear hunting regulations, including extending the hours allowed to hunt. State Department of Environmental Conservation Wildlife Biologist Jeremy Hurst said they’ve been working with the public on updates to the deer management plan to help create new opportunities for hunters.
He said the primary change is the proposal to extend the daily hunting hours to 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset, “Those times are used almost universally across the country, with some exceptions. But New York State was the most restrictive state in terms of beginning hunting hours, so we’re proposing to align with the rest of the country and start those hours a little bit longer. What that does, it gives hunters a little more time in the field to shoot when it can be safe to shoot, and when deer and bear are frequently very active.”
In regards to concerns about the hours changes, especially following the accidental killing of Sherman resident Rosemary Billquist in 2017 by a hunter who mistook her for a deer, Hurst said that tragic incident was an illegal action, “That was, I think, 45 minutes or an hour after legal sunset, so it’s well beyond the time frame that we’re proposing. Nonetheless, it represented an illegal action and certainly irresponsible behavior on the part of that person.”
Other proposed changes to the regulations include requiring hunters using a firearm to wear some level of hunter fluorescent orange or pink. Comments on the DEC’s proposed hunting regulations can be emailed until August 15th to wildliferegs@dec.ny.gov
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