MDC online hunter education course now offered in Spanish

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces its online hunter education program is now offered in Spanish, ensuring hunter safety information is accessible to all Missourians.

Missouri's online hunter education provider, Kalkomey Enterprises, LLC, has recently made a Spanish version of the course available, and MDC is making the program available to Missouri's Spanish-speaking hunters.

"In our ongoing commitment to fostering safe and enjoyable experiences in the field, we now offer a Spanish translation of your current hunter safety course. This milestone is a testament to our dedication to inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring that vital safety information reaches a broader audience," said Kalkomey.

According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in Missouri. Nearly 4% of Missourians only speak Spanish or speak Spanish with limited English proficiency.

Key features of the certified Spanish-language hunter education course include:

• The same International Hunter Education Association-approved curriculum as the standard English course.
• An easy-to-use language selection tool, allowing students to quickly toggle between English and Spanish translations.
• Accurate, high-quality translations - including a certificate of accuracy by certified Spanish linguists from partners at Acclaro and powered by Transifex.
• Spanish-speaking customer support agents.

"The hunter education community and MDC are committed to creating safe, knowledgeable, responsible, and involved hunters, regardless of the language they speak," said MDC Hunter Education and Shooting Range Coordinator Justin McGuire. "This Spanish-language course is a step toward reducing the barriers of the non-English-speaking public and ensuring everyone receives the same level of safety education."

MDC notes that all in-person Hunter Education Skills Sessions will still be taught in English.

With only a few exceptions, hunter education certification is required for anyone aged 16 or older who wants to hunt with a firearm in the state of Missouri. Since the program's inception, MDC staff and volunteers have certified over 1.4 million people and firearm-related hunting incidents have fallen by approximately 70%.

"With annual hunting participation of over 500,000 hunters, the importance of safety in the Missouri outdoors can't be overstated," said McGuire. "In addition to firearms safety, participants in the hunter education program also learn elements of biology, ecology, ethics, first aid, and other topics."

View the Spanish version of the online Missouri Hunter Safety course at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4Dp.