Image: youth_hunting_veto

Proponents of an Erie County bill maintain that the mentored youth hunting program has a long-standing record of safety and success. And they’re optimistic they have enough votes to override the veto. Image by Realtree.

A New York county executive has vetoed a bill that would allow 12- and 13-year-olds to hunt deer with a firearm or crossbow under adult supervision in the county.

According to wivb.com, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz vetoed the Erie County bill, which passed the legislature 7-to-3 on April 30, with one legislator absent from the vote.

Although Poloncarz acknowledged that there have not been any incidents involving 12-and 13-year-olds while hunting since the bill passed in the state legislature in 2024, he said he vetoed the bill because children as young as 9 years old have died in hunting-related accidents in other states.

“I come from a family that hunts,” Poloncarz said. “My father hunted, my brother hunts and other members of my family hunt. This is not about being against hunting. It is about whether I believe it is appropriate for 12- and 13-year-olds to hunt big game, even with a mentor. Because of the risk, and because of the child fatality reports I have read, I do not believe it is.”

Don’t Miss: Video Shows Rabid Beaver Attacking Child at New Jersey Lake

In a Facebook post, legislator Lindsay Lorigo said Poloncarz’s decision was not based on facts, data or the actual safety record of New York’s youth hunting program.

“Here are the facts: New York’s mentored youth hunting program has had zero shooting incidents, zero safety violations and zero license revocations among more than 9,400 youth participants statewide, according to DEC data,” Lorigo wrote. “The idea that this program is unsafe ignores reality. This is a structured, supervised, long-standing program with a proven record. Mark Poloncarz is engaging in fear-mongering and political posturing instead of facts. Parents deserve the right to make decisions for their children.”

According to wivb,com, the veto doesn’t mean the proposal is dead. There’s a chance the law could still take effect in time for the upcoming deer season if legislators vote to override the veto. If the override succeeds, licensed 12- and 13-year-old hunters would be allowed to hunt deer with a firearm while accompanied by a qualified adult.

“If everybody who voted for it the first time votes for it again, we do have enough votes to override the veto,” Lorigo said. “We did have one legislator missing that does support this law, so we do have 8-to-3 support.”