Effective Aug. 1, 2006, anyone 16 years or older and born after May 31,
1975 can hunt under the supervision of a licensed hunter, 21 or older,
without having to complete the state’s hunter safety certification. The
newly established “Hunter Safety Mentoring Exemption” enables those
persons to purchase a Florida hunting license and hunt during a one-year
trial basis.
The new mentoring exemption was passed by the Florida Legislature to
help persuade more people to experience hunting. It is designed to
encourage experienced hunters to teach novice hunters about safety,
ethics, wildlife, hunting skills and respect for Florida’s outdoors.
Until now, everyone 16 or over, and born after May 31, 1975, needed to
complete the hunter safety requirement before they were allowed to buy a
hunting license.
“This should be a great incentive for getting more people to give
hunting a try, and hopefully, we can hook some of these folks on the
hunting tradition,” said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission hunter safety coordinator Bill Cline. “If a novice hunter
enjoys the sport, we hope they take the hunter safety course and
continue the experience for years to come.”
Individuals taking advantage of this try-before-you-buy approach would
have to take and pass a hunter safety class to be eligible to purchase a
hunting license and hunt the following year.
