Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Legislators take another shot at allowing 12- and 13-year-olds to hunt with adult supervision, as part of a state opt-in program. A similar bill was vetoed by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz in 2021.
Legislator Frank Todaro says it's a State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) program, where counties can opt-in to allow a 12- or 13-year-olds to go out with a licensed adult hunter to be out in the field and learn gun safety for the type of animals they are hunting.
"That's very important for these youth to understand how it actually you know what they're going to be doing. This is prior to them actually taking the hunting safety course when it is of age of 14. So all the all the state laws and rules apply for hunting. This is just a great program to teach the youth of what they're getting into," explained Todaro in an interview with WBEN.
He feels allowing them to hunt at 12- or 13-years-old can help them pass the course to get a hunting license on their own.
Todaro says the DEC data shows the program is working.
"Zero results to anybody getting hurt. The numbers don't lie. The data is there," Todaro noted. "I'm hoping that I will talk to the other new legislators on the Democratic side, and have a conversation with them and inform them what we had in the past and see if I can getting their support."
A similar bill in 2021 passed the Legislature, but was vetoed by Poloncarz, citing child safety concerns. Poloncarz declined an interview with WBEN.
Rockland County is the only other county not opting into this program.