Babes in the Woods: Industry Targets Children

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	Children can better appreciate wildlife from a peaceful viewpoint.

The number of hunters has been in steady decline [PDF] for nearly three decades. The trend can be traced to a variety of causes related to growing urbanization, competing activities, diminishing open spaces and changing societal attitudes.

While fewer hunters bodes well for animals, it is bad news for the $20 billion-a-year hunting industry. To shore up slipping profits and ensure future revenue, the hunting industry has focused on recruiting new hunters, setting its sights on children.

Hunting Lobby Targets Minimum Hunting Ages, Safety Courses

The Families Afield lobby, composed of three large hunting groups (National Shooting Sports Foundation, U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and National Wild Turkey Federation), has recast minimum hunting ages and mandatory hunter safety courses not as necessary safety precautions, but as "barriers" to hunting.

The Families Afield goal: to move state to state eliminating minimum hunting ages and exempting children, who are usually the most inexperienced and untrained of all hunters, from hunter safety courses.

Children, Bystanders at Risk

The industry profit strategy exposes children to unacceptable dangers. In 2004, the last year for which complete data are available, there were 445 hunting accidents, many involving children.

Beside the risk to the children themselves, youth hunting also places other hunters and bystanders, including hikers, birders and nearby residents, at risk. A deer rifle can kill a human being from more than a mile away.

Updated March 20, 2008

Related Links

Fact Sheet: Hunters Targeting Children

Laws and Legislation on Children Hunting

What the Experts Say About Hunter Safety Education