Sales have tripled this year, officials say.

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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos reports the DEC is experiencing record-breaking sales of hunting and trapping licenses for upcoming seasons.

Sales for big game hunting and trapping licenses and Deer Management Permits were nearly triple prior years’ sales on opening day, more than double on the second day and nearly double the first two weeks, officials say.

The DEC also announced that in-person Hunter Education, Bowhunter Education, and Trapper Education courses have resumed with appropriate social distancing and other precautions to limit the community spread of COVID-19. The DEC transformed the Hunter Ed program at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to offer online certification, resulting in a dramatic 105-percent increase in participants completing the course compared to the traditional in-person courses offered in 2019.

“With New Yorkers looking for more ways to enjoy the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing tremendous interest in outdoor recreation and in the sports of fishing, hunting, and trapping, including record sales of big game hunting and trapping licenses,” Seggos said in a press release. “New York is home to some of the best hunting and fishing opportunities in the nation. DEC’s efforts to make sure hunters and anglers are able to purchase fishing, hunting, and trapping licenses and take hunter safety courses from the comfort of their homes, are making the outdoors even more accessible and we will continue to offer our new online courses as we transition back to offering in-person courses.”

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