BENNINGTON — Vermont’s Department of Fish and Wildlife says no hunters were injured or killed while in the woods last year, the first time in four decades.

Chris Saunders of the department said 2010 had formerly been the lowest on record, with only two incidents.

Saunders said the three main injury types are when a hunter shoots someone else thinking they are game, shoots someone else while shooting at game, or shoots himself or another when the gun fires unintentionally.

The Bennington Banner reported that 1981 was the worst year for hunting injuries with a total of 27 incidents, one of them being fatal. The highest number of fatalities came in 1973, with four incidents out of a total of 18.