Wis. 10-year-old Hunting Age Begins Tuesday, I can't believe it!

This news broke recently....unbelievable.  Although I don't like hunting in general (even though my hubby does),  I sure don't think 10 year olds should be doing it!! Geez.....

Wis. 10-year-old Hunting Age Begins Tuesday

TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ― Ten-year-olds can carry guns into Wisconsin's woods for the first time next week under a new law that reduces the state's minimum hunting age.

Until now, children had to be 12 years old to hunt with an adult and 14 to hunt alone in Wisconsin. Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill earlier this month that allows anyone at least 10 years old to hunt with supervision. The law takes effect Tuesday.

Supporters say the change will draw more children into hunting earlier, preserving Wisconsin's rich hunting traditions. Critics counter 10-year-olds can't handle firearms and someone inevitably will get hurt.

"Absolutely not a good idea," said Dr. Kathryn Nichol, a retired Madison pediatrician and a former member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' board.

Thirty states have no minimum hunting age and 28 have created apprenticeship programs similar to Wisconsin's new provisions, according to the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, which lobbied for the bill. The state programs vary in minimum age, safety requirements and license fees.

Wisconsin's new regulations allow anyone 10 or older to hunt with an adult mentor without taking a safety course. The child and mentor can have only one gun or bow between them and must stay within arm's reach of each other. The set-up mimics other mentored youth hunts the state Department of Natural Resources has offered for duck, turkey and deer.

The law also gives 10- and 11-year-olds discounts on hunting licenses and stamps.

They can start purchasing licenses along with other hunters on Tuesday, which also marks the opener of the early Canadian geese and mourning dove seasons. They'll be immediately eligible to hunt coyotes, weasels, skunks and opossums, too. It's open season on those species year round.

DNR officials estimate the law will mean at least an additional 9,200 hunters in Wisconsin every year. Nearly a dozen gun and outdoors groups, including the National Rifle Association and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, have registered in support.

"This law gives seasoned hunters a chance to give something back — to do for someone today what someone else did for them years ago — introduce them to the hunting experience which then became a lifetime interest," DNR spokesman Adam Collins said in a statement.

An agency review found only one out of 488 hunting incidents between 1998 and 2008 involved a person 13 years old in a mentored hunt. In that instance, the person was shooting at a tree, didn't realize someone from another hunting party was in the area and hit the victim with several shotgun pellets, DNR Chief Warden Randy Stark told the Senate's natural resources committee in written testimony in April.

Ed Harvey is president of the Conservation Congress, an influential group of sportsmen who advise the DNR. He acknowledges 10-year-olds with guns are a "safety concern," but the mentor program includes safeguards such as only one weapon.

"It's a very closely supervised situation," Harvey said.

Wisconsin Council on Children and Families spokesman Bob Jacobson said children that young shouldn't carry dangerous weapons around.

"We understand in some families hunting is a part of life, but we're just not comfortable with the age going that low," he said.

Nichol, the retired pediatrician, said the law doesn't require mentors to be skilled hunters. Young children just aren't coordinated or experienced enough to use guns and other weapons safely, she said.

"It's a very sad day," she said. "It will be interesting to see if we have a child of that age who dies in a hunting accident. What will the answer be then?"

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