This week, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law Senate Bill 478, a measure aimed at recruiting new hunters in the state.
The bill, sponsored by Senator John Unger (D- Berkeley), creates an apprentice hunting license to allow new hunters to take to the field under the guidance of an adult mentor before taking hunter education. Current law in West Virginia allows youth under the age of fifteen to try hunting before taking hunter education if they are accompanied by a licensed adult. This bill expands this mentorship concept to allow all ages to safely experience our outdoor traditions.
“Families Afield has proven to get new hunters into the field safely and in a manner that allows them to experience all that hunting has to offer,” said Jeremy Rine, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance in-house counsel and associate director of state services. “Sportsmen should be very excited to see another state pass legislation that will keep our hunting heritage alive for generations to come.”
New hunters in West Virginia will have the opportunity to give hunting a try while supervised by a currently licensed hunter that is at least eighteen years old. These new hunters will be able to experience West Virginia’s great hunting heritage for up to three years before completing the state’s hunter education course.
The Families Afield initiative was established by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and the National Wild Turkey Federation to bring a new generation of sportsmen to the field. Along with the National Rifle Association and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the coalition has worked to pass measures in 33 states with more than 782,000 apprentice or mentored hunting licenses sold since the program’s inception.
