Hunting season is getting underway. As a farmer with a vast amount of land, you should fully understand the risk you expose yourself to when allowing hunting on your property.

We’ll look at the risk involved for you as the landowner when hosting visiting hunters and hopefully answer some of your questions.

Perhaps you are a hunter and enjoy having people partake with you. Maybe you view the activity as a form of seasonal income. In either case, you owe a certain duty of care to the visitors on your property.

What to Consider When Allowing Hunting on Your Property

Your fields may prove fruitful to game hunters. They can also expose you to risk. Let’s look at few things to consider before allowing others on your property for this endeavor:

• What rules do you have in place?
• Is hunting only allowed with yourself as a guide?
• How will you deal with trespassers who may use your land?
• What animals may be hunted?
• How will you protect yourself?
• Do you require waivers signed by all hunters?

You Don’t Allow Hunting, But It Happens Anyway

Anyone who comes on your property for their own purposes without your authorization, invitation, or inducement is trespassing. Per Section 2305.402 of the Ohio Revised Code (Duties owed to trespassers), you may still have potential liability exposures when trespassers are on your property. You should be mindful of this and take proper care to prevent a loss should it occur.

You can deter trespassers by posting large No Trespassing or No Hunting signs along the perimeter of your property, so hunters on adjacent land don’t mistake their whereabouts and inadvertently venture onto your premises.

During your regular walk-throughs, pay attention to anything out of the ordinary (trail cameras for example) that a hunter may have placed for scouting purposes. Remove them as you see fit to prevent hunters from returning. They will know that you are paying attention and won’t want to draw unnecessary attention to themselves.

Landowner’s Liability Risk

When hunters use your property, you expose yourself to potential liability and are responsible for their safety. If someone on your property suffers injury, death, or other loss, you may be enjoined in a lawsuit for damages.

This risk can be managed in one of three ways:

• Avoidance – not allowing hunting on your property and taking reasonable measures to prevent it
• Retention – allowing hunting, but accepting the full risk without safeguarding your assets
• Transference – transferring the risk to others with a well-composed liability insurance plan.

Protect Yourself

Whether you’re a hunter and enjoy the outdoors in the company of good friends, or earn extra income as a private preserve, fees from friends, or through the Ohio Landowner/Hunter Access Partnership Program, it is imperative that you protect yourself.

Hunting comes with inherent liability exposures. Ensure you’re adequately protected with a comprehensive review of your insurance program. With the right protection program and adequate loss control, you can limit most risks you face before it becomes a catastrophic loss.

Unsure where to start? That’s where we come in! Contact us to review your current coverage and make sure you’re fully protected moving forward.

Additional Resources:

Ohio Landowner/Hunter Access Partnership Program
ODNR Hunting Rules 2023