The Genesee County Legislature this evening, with the blessing of local sportsman’s groups, unanimously passed a local law authorizing 12- and 13-year-old licensed hunters to hunt deer with a firearm or crossbow during hunting season under strict supervision.
“As a sportsman, hunter, mother and grandmother, this is a well advised and educated opportunity to continue the tradition that we have embraced in Genesee County,” said Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein upon passage of the law that coincides with a New York State two-year pilot program.
Stein was speaking at the legislature’s meeting at the Old County Courthouse and via Zoom videoconferencing – a session attended by several members of the Genesee County Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs.
Two of those GCFSC representatives were LeRoyans Mike Ciociola and Glen Adams, who had been following the process that resulted in the law becoming reality. The resolution was introduced last month after state lawmakers approved the program in accordance with Environmental Conservation Law. A public hearing today preceded the official vote.
“I am glad that the Genesee County Legislature went along with this and I would just like the public to know that this was an informed decision that was made,” Ciociola said. “I know some people, when they hear 12- and 13-year-olds, they’re worried. But the safety of this is in place as many other states have hunting at this age, and they have almost nonexistent incidences of 12- and 13-year-olds being involved in a hunting-related accident.”
Ciociola underscored the fact that state hunting officials, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the NYS Fish & Wildlife Management Board have carefully considered this legislation.
“And our Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs represents about 1,200 sportsmen,” he said. “If you look at Genesee County as an average county and multiply it by all the other counties in the state, that’s a lot of sportsmen who have been through this.”
He said he is part of a group of people “who were raised hunting and taught our kids to hunt.”
“I think there are a lot of good safety protocols built into this – the wearing of blaze orange, having to be in a control distance of the youth at all times, no off the ground stands. There have been precautions taken and you have to understand that this is a two-year trial period. So, we’re confident that this is going to be good.”
During the public hearing, Adams thanked the legislature for moving the local law along quickly and emphasized the many supervisory aspects of the law.
Afterward, he mentioned the club’s ongoing hunter education, adding that he believes the law will lead to a natural flow of young hunters obtaining their licenses and receiving the required training to go into the field safely.
Legislators Christian Yunker and John Deleo spoke favorably of the proposal, pointing out that hunting is a “valued tradition” in the county and that bringing more youth into the sport is a positive step to continuing deer management practices.
Specifically, the local law allows hunters age 12 and 13 to hunt deer with a crossbow, rifle, shotgun, or muzzle-loaded firearm through Dec. 31, 2023, with the supervision of a licensed adult.
State requirements include the following:
- Such minor is accompanied by their parent or legal guardian, or by a person designated in writing by such parent or legal guardian on a form prescribed by the Environmental Conservation Department who is 21 years of age or older;
- Such parent, guardian or person has had at least three years’ experience in hunting deer;
- Such parent, guardian or person holds a hunting license;
- Such parent, guardian or person maintains physical control over the minor at all times while hunting;
- Such parent, guardian or person and the minor remain at ground level at all times while hunting;
- Such parent, guardian or person and the minor shall each display either a minimum total of 250 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or pink or patterned fluorescent orange or pink consisting of no less than 50-percent fluorescent orange or pink material worn above the waist and visible from all directions, or a hat or cap with no less than 50 percent of the exterior consisting of solid fluorescent orange or pink material and visible from all directions.
