Passing on Florida’s hunting heritage?
February 9th, 2009 by admin
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the future of hunting in Florida depends upon getting youth involved (providing “quality hunting experiences” is a goal of the FWC’s Youth Hunting Program). Two recent incidents in the news were probably not the sort of experiences they were thinking of.
One night last week in Bay County, FWC officers watched as a truck stopped near a deer decoy and two shots rang out. (Fake “decoy animals” are used by the FWC in areas known for illegal hunting.) Upon stopping the vehicle, officers discovered the shooter was a 13-year-old girl who was being coached by her mother’s boyfriend, a convicted felon. The mother was driving the car and illuminating the plastic deer with a light.
Also last week, in Franklin County, FWC officers stopped a vehicle after a decoy placed on private property was shot at. This time the hunter was a young boy and his father was behind the wheel. The father spent the night in jail and two shotguns and one rifle were seized.