Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
There has been a recent thread on whether or not Forestry is safe Backdrop. This has led to several comments thta we have a very low hunter accident rate in the UK and thus chances of an accident are very low. Also comment that New Zealand has a very accident rate, which prompted me to do a little quick research using Google. Having been involved in potentially dangerous sports for most of my life - paragliding, offpiste skiing etc, risk mitigation is a very constant thread, and a large part of the learning is looking at causes and how to avoid becoming a statistic. And more experience in many many cases is a contributing factor to many many accidents.
New Zealand is a country with a land mass about that of the UK, but with a population about that of Scotland. But New Zealand has a very high fatal shooting accident rate amongst hunters.
Just found this interesting paper on Hunting Accidents in New Zealand published in 2015. Most seem to happen with experienced hunters and their brain fills in the bits that are missing, and the brain becomes convinced that it is a deer. We all know how that white patch is the bum of a deer, and that brown bit to the left is the body etc. And Heuristic factors come into play as well. The guide has put me in this highseat and said any shot is safe etc etc.
Third Paragraph of the introduction
On average, a hunter is accidentally killed every nine months in New Zealand. To date in 2015, there have been two accidents where target misidentification was a factor, one of which was fatal. The majority of fatalities involving misidentified targets occur in big game as opposed to small game hunting. In New Zealand the accidents primarily involve deer hunting. A 2003 report1 by Inspector Joe Green of the New Zealand Police analysed 33 fatal deer hunting accidents occurring between 1979 and 2002. Incorrect target identification was by far the largest contributor (64%) in the cases examined, and figures from overseas appear to be similar, if not higher.
https://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/28868/1/Mistaken for Game Hunting accidents – a human factors review - Final - V9.0.pdf
Doing some further quick reading - this article on Fishing Outdoors NZ does add some interesting thoughts. A lot of NZ hunting accidents probably being driven by the view that the only good deer is a dead deer, and any deer seen should be shot. Hence lots of pressure to shoot deer. Translate this to the UK, and the current view from the powers that be that deer are pests, and contractors are being paid per deer shot etc. This is just adding huge pressures on deer being shot. Even more reason why we should be very very mindful of correct identification of targets etc.
Analysis of hunting accidents offers a sobering reflection | Fishing and Outdoors
The Human Factors reveiw paper is well worth a quick read as it does rather highlight a lot of things that we all should be thinking about. Especially the fact that the majority of fatal accidents came about through incorrect target identification - "I was sure it was a deer".
Discuss
New Zealand is a country with a land mass about that of the UK, but with a population about that of Scotland. But New Zealand has a very high fatal shooting accident rate amongst hunters.
Just found this interesting paper on Hunting Accidents in New Zealand published in 2015. Most seem to happen with experienced hunters and their brain fills in the bits that are missing, and the brain becomes convinced that it is a deer. We all know how that white patch is the bum of a deer, and that brown bit to the left is the body etc. And Heuristic factors come into play as well. The guide has put me in this highseat and said any shot is safe etc etc.
Third Paragraph of the introduction
On average, a hunter is accidentally killed every nine months in New Zealand. To date in 2015, there have been two accidents where target misidentification was a factor, one of which was fatal. The majority of fatalities involving misidentified targets occur in big game as opposed to small game hunting. In New Zealand the accidents primarily involve deer hunting. A 2003 report1 by Inspector Joe Green of the New Zealand Police analysed 33 fatal deer hunting accidents occurring between 1979 and 2002. Incorrect target identification was by far the largest contributor (64%) in the cases examined, and figures from overseas appear to be similar, if not higher.
https://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/28868/1/Mistaken for Game Hunting accidents – a human factors review - Final - V9.0.pdf
Doing some further quick reading - this article on Fishing Outdoors NZ does add some interesting thoughts. A lot of NZ hunting accidents probably being driven by the view that the only good deer is a dead deer, and any deer seen should be shot. Hence lots of pressure to shoot deer. Translate this to the UK, and the current view from the powers that be that deer are pests, and contractors are being paid per deer shot etc. This is just adding huge pressures on deer being shot. Even more reason why we should be very very mindful of correct identification of targets etc.
Analysis of hunting accidents offers a sobering reflection | Fishing and Outdoors
The Human Factors reveiw paper is well worth a quick read as it does rather highlight a lot of things that we all should be thinking about. Especially the fact that the majority of fatal accidents came about through incorrect target identification - "I was sure it was a deer".
Discuss
