The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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February 13, 2012

Novice hunter bill working through Senate

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Novice hunters could go afield next year with a licensed hunter and skip, momentarily, the mandatory safety courses in a Senate bill with the blessings of the National Rifle Association.

While young hunters ultimately would need to pass a safety course sponsored by the Division of Natural Resources, one advocate says the idea is to introduce them to the sport.

“The idea is that hunting is a great sport and this will provide people the opportunity to orient themselves and orient themselves to the sport,” says Senate Natural Resources Chairman Bill Laird, D-Fayette.

“Obviously, it’s not meant to diminish the importance of the safety portion of the licensure requirements.”

Apprentice hunters could take to the forests in the company of a licensed hunter, at least 18 years old.

Laird said the outdoor pursuit traditionally is one that has been passed from one generation to the next.

Reflecting on his own boyhood, Laird recalled taking trips with his father, who instilled in him hunting techniques and the critical element of safety.

“I think that’s part of our Appalachian culture,” Laird said.

“It tends to be an inter-generational matter that’s passed down through families in terms of tradition.”

Laird said his father taught him well all aspects of the sport in an era when youths weren’t obligated to take formal safety classes.

“I’m very careful in the woods when I carry a firearm,” the four-term Fayette County sheriff said.

Laird said the bill, offered by Majority Leader John Unger, D-Berkeley, in no way removes the obligation for safety classes that eventually must be taken.

“This particular legislation is intended not to be that barrier or create a chilling effect for initial orientation.”

The NRA agrees, saying that long education requirements “often discourage potential hunters from going afield because they are unwilling to dedicate the necessary time to complete the course in order to pursue an activity that they are simply trying out.”

“The apprentice license program will allow them to become hooked on hunting while under the supervision of a mentor,” the organization said.

So far, the NRA said, such programs have benefited more than 600,000 youngsters.

“And these hunters have proven to be safer than all other classes of hunters in what is already one of the safest recreational activities in America,” the NRA said.

Beginning in 2013, the bill would permit novices to accompany licensed hunters for three seasons within any five-consecutive-year window without taking the required education course.

“I think it’s responsible legislation,” Laird added.

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