Agency reports no hunting-related fatalities last year

Last year was one of the few years on record that Arkansas did not have a fatality from a hunting accident, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

An agency report released recently summarized all hunting-related incidents from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018.

"Still, by and large, falls from tree stands make up the largest portion of hunting accidents," said Joe Huggins, hunter education coordinator for the agency. "Fifteen of the 23 reported accidents last year were falls from stands."

Huggins said tree stand falls spanned all ages of hunters last year, from a seven- and an eight-year old, to two 75-year old veterans of the deer woods.

"Some were from 10 feet, and some were from as high as 25 feet," Huggins said. "Some even had safety harnesses on but weren't connected to the tree at the time of the fall."

Many falls occur when people are transitioning from a ladder or steps into a stand. Huggins suggests setting up a vertical rope and prussic knot to always stay connected to the tree.

"The whole idea of the system is to always have your harness attached to the tree from the time you leave the ground until the time you return after the hunt," he said.

The annual report only shows incidents that were reported, either from the hunters, hospitals or first-responders. It also shows only incidents when the person was directly involved with hunting at the time.

"We know of other incidents that occurred while people were getting a duck boat or deer stand ready that don't fall under the report," Huggins said. "And there are a lot of twisted ankles, cuts and minor injuries that occur that people never report."

More than 318,500 licensed hunters participated last year, so less than 0.007% of hunters experienced a hunting-related injury.

"The percentage of injuries is way lower than most high school sports like football," Huggins said. "We have about the same rate of injury as table tennis."

Sports on 09/18/2018

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