FORT SMITH (KFSM)-A hunter education course took place Saturday (March 14) at the Janet Huckabee Nature Center.
Around 25 people of all ages showed up the event. The course teaches the fundamentals of safe and responsible hunting, whether it be with guns or bows.
In Arkansas, anyone born after 1968 must complete one of these classes and carry a valid hunter education card in order to legally hunt in the state. Youth under the age of 16 may hunt without hunter education as long as they are under the supervision of an adult who’s at least 21-years-old.
“Hunter education and hunter safety is very important,” Kelly Mulvihill, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission said. “It started out back in 1949 with the recognition that people were getting hurt, and they needed some kind of instruction to bring them together, and make sure they get this instruction especially gun safety, how to handle a gun and how to do it safely.”
The event was free thanks to the support of a 1/8-cent conservation sales tax, according to the Nature Center’s website. Organizers said there’s no specific age requirement to enroll in hunter education. The class started at 7 a.m. and wraps up at 6 p.m.