New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 181 - Winter 2013

Places to hunt

Old books for sale

Hunting in Carkeek, Upcot and Leatham

$7.80 INC GSTP U B L I S H E D B Y T H E N E W Z E A L A N D D E E R S TA L K E R S A S S O C I AT I O N

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Winter issue 181 - July tO september 2013

neW ZeAlAnD

& WilDliFe

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Issue 181 July september 2013An official publication of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Incorporated

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is given in good faith and has been derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, neither NZDA nor any person involved in the preparation of this publication accepts any form of liability whatsoever for its contents including opinions, advice or information or any consequences from it use. Articles and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc.

COver phOtO Grant Tipling, Taranaki, I'm outa here. Third place 2009 Taupo Branch Trophy Game animals

FeAturesHelmets and Quad Riding in General Lance Hare ........................................... 9Milestone Just Another Day for Pilot Richard Hannibal Hayes ............. 17Opinion No More Moa Tony Orman .......................................................... 18Good Riddance to Unwanted Goat Pests at Upcot Station Trev Dibben ....... 24Carkeek Ill Definitely be Lining up Again Next Year Richard ODriscoll ..... 26Experience becomes Knowledge, Age becomes Wisdom Alan Kerrick ........ 28Opinion The Douglas Score and Wild Sheep Horns Ray W Webb ............. 36

reGulArsPresidents Report Tim McCarthy ............................................................... 2Editorial Recreational Hunting Futures, or the way Forward ........................... 3

Letters to the Editor ............................................................................................ 5

HUNTS Report Bill OLeary HUNTS Revalidation ......................................... 6COLFO Report .................................................................................................... 7

Wild Game - A Snippet on the Red deer of Britain D Bruce Banwell ......... 12A History of Hunting The Deerstalkers Part 2 1987 2012 ............................ 13

Young Hunter Story First the Fun, then the Hard Part Hayden Melles ...... 14Take me hunting Kids page win a free Kilwell prize ..................................... 15

DOC Update Ian Cooksley National Hunting Advisor ................................ 16Tip Offs Injury Cures Maureen Coleman ................................................. 23Heritage Book Auction ...................................................................................30

Bugle News from around the Traps ................................................................ 32

Obituary Arthur Golding .......................................................................... 32Blast from the Past Urewera Epitaph Howard Egan ...............................34Poem Why do I Care? Karl Pratter ........................................................ 37Swazi Junior Shoots Gore & Districts and North Taranaki .............................. 37

Lock, Stock and Barrel Post 1950s Cartridges Chaz Forsyth .................38Places to Hunt Nelson and South Marlborough ..............................................40

Book Reviews ....................................................................................... 20 and 42

On Target Various shooting event results .......................................................44

NZDA National Shooting Calendar 2013 ............................................................ 47

CONTENTS

1NZ Hunting & Wildlife 181 - Winter 2013

Winter is here. This became a reality for me while hunting tahr in the

Southern Alps recently when it was minus 5 degrees all day. I was up to

my knees in snow and my fingers were frozen from glassing the tops.

The tahr are in the middle of the rut and the bulls are more interested in

nannies than looking out for danger. It is a great time to be in the hills;

it makes a man feel alive to the core. The young guy hunting with me

from England was amazed at our hunting culture here in New Zealand.

Not having been to New Zealand before it was a dream come true for

him. Out there doing it, he said, just like the hunting and fishing shops

catch phrase. Watching YouTube videos were nothing like experiencing it

in 3D real life. My reply was, Just living the dream. I think that sums up

our hunting experience in New Zealand.

Unfortunately his experience here was marred by the sight of a helicopter

flying up and down the valley twice in less than two hours, both times

with a bull tahr hanging on the strop on their return trip. This I hope will

be the last winter we see this sort of hunting on our public lands. The

recent decision by Justice Cos, in upholding the actions by the Hon Peter

Dunne in his decision to only allow two year concessions to the AATH

operators after the operators took a judicial review against him. This has

left the way clear to introduce the law to make it illegal to hunt trophy

animals in this way on public land.

I congratulate and applaud the Hon Peter Dunne in the stand he has

taken to deliver a level playing field for all hunters in New Zealand on

public land. He has been true to his word and I have no doubt that he will

follow through with his promise to deliver a Game Animal Council that

will ensure recreational hunters have a say in the future of game animal

management in New Zealand. He truly has been the hunters champion in

parliament.

Food for thought.

We are only six weeks out from the national conference and annual

general meeting in Blenheim and there will be a few things to discuss on

the future of hunting. Please put some thought into positive ideas as we

look forward, not behind us.

The new book, A History of Hunting The Deerstalkers Part 2 1987 -

2012' which features the last 25 years of NZDA has been finalised and

is in the process of being published. We are indebted to our national

patron, Ian Wright for his dedication and time in assembling the group

of people who had a hand in the production of this book. There are 500

special edition copies available to members only, so dont miss out.

I would like to touch on the excellent outcome of the roar and duck

shooting opening with no shooting fatalities. The past couple of years

have been a wake up call to be very vigilant while out there hunting. Lets

keep up the great work because one life lost is one to many.

PRESIDENTS REPORT

presIDeNts repOrt - WINterTim McCar t hy - Na t iona l Presiden t New Zea l a nd D eersta l kers Assoc ia t ion

Be safe be seen.

Better No Meat t

han

No Mate

NZ Hunting & Wildlife 181 - Winter 2013 2

EDITORIAL

IntroductIonAll of us, including critics of NZDA, accept that the way forward is the only way to go, and the rest of our lives are to be spent in the future. Corniness aside, it is tempting to wonder what the future may hold, and to reflect on what lies in the past, in part to avoid making any similar mistakes.

recreatIonal huntIng In the pastHunting in the past involved, for the first colonists, (the Polynesian ancestors), the hunting of moa and other indigenous wildlife (mostly birds), which they found in New Zealand. This was for sustenance, not recreation. Then the Europeans arrived, soon to re-colonise the place. These folk, fresh from the emergent Industrial Revolution of the Old world, brought with them the trappings of technology as well as a yearning for recreational opportunities as living conditions had improved from the hard-scrabble survival to a more stable living where recreation could be contemplated. The result was the introduction of deer, fish, birds and other creatures.

Some of these introductions were gifted by heads of state, but most were paid for by the champions of introducing such creatures, with the intent of ensuring, to some extent anyway, their availability for the public. This public availability involved licensing, to ensure the introduced species were not hunted to extinction by those who had paid for their license to hunt. Unfortunately, as the science of ecology (and the concept of the balance of nature) emerged, most of the introduced species flourished beyond the wildest imaginings of their introducers. These were in the main, the Acclimatisation Societies, whose efforts to introduce recreational species were soon undermined by the profligacy of their introductions. Even with nothing else upon which to predate, humans soon found themselves unequal to the task of controlling the number of deer.

The habitat which had boomed after the extinction of the herbivorous browsing birds, with species palatable to the massive birdlife flourishing in their absence, and this was soon, in parts, under pressure from the increasing number of deer. This damage was quickly observed and scientists of the first few decades of the last century soon pronounced the introduced deer to be pests. The result was an end to the paid-licensed recreational hunting in the late 1920s. The abolition of licensed hunting for fee-paying hunters led directly to no-charge hunting because of the

pest status of the quarry. This situation has prevailed for the past 80 years, and more than two generations of recreational hunters have variously chafed and enjoyed this regime.

the presentMachinations by those with authority over the wild animal resource have striven to maintain their pest status, despite evidence that more and more citizens are appreciating deer in particular, and despite evidence that deer remain generally under control from population explosion throughout New Zealand, thanks to the predation provided by recreational hunters, wild animal recovery operations (WARO) and if all else fails, search and destroy operations (SAD). Generally, recreational hunting maintains wild animal populations (apart from in the Otago Conservancy, in which it is believed the only Department of Conservation professional hunting staff cadre remains).

Future prospectsThe recent appearance of the Game Animal Council Bill is exciting because its development saw all of the stakeholders meeting around a table to thrash out the issues. This has not happened since the Deer menace conference of 1929, (although some straws flew into the wind after various seminars and conferences of the late 1960s and 1970s, culminating in the Wild Animal Control Act 1977).

What might result from these deliberations? Statutory recognition of the need for the management of deer by hunting is a possibility. A reduction in the advocacy currently performed by NZDA on behalf of all hunters, is also likely. Resourcing will be needed for this though, and simply taxing the collectors of animal trophies is not only unfair, but is inadequate. Thankfully, the version of the bill so far reported back (but not yet law) recognises this and makes provision for raising money by other means. A downside is the likelihood that some hunting will have to be paid for, even on public lands, by recreational hunters. An upside is that free recreational hunting will remain on public lands for recreational hunters. Those who pay may expect to obtain information about what theyre hunting, what the chances are of getting at trophy, some meat for the table, or even of seeing an animal.

Those who have enjoyed hunting for pests at no charge for the last 80 years, may take exception to the prospect of hunters paying to hunt valued introduced species, but the change in status, besides elevating recreational hunters from pest controllers to wild animal hunters, will be a good thing because at the moment, there is precious little information available about wild animal herds beyond what Landcare Research has obtained from its own surveys. The Department of Conservation, with its innumerable restructurings, reformations and changes, in the face of immense gains in land for which it has management responsibilities, cannot, because it is demonstrably under-resourced, and arguably lacks the staff with which to perform such research functions.

Additionally, the maintenance of conservation values under the Conservation Act 1986 specifically prioritises these over anything to do with sustainable harvesting, notwithstanding any responsibilities the Department might hold for administration and implementation of the Wildlife Act 1953. This might mean, for instance, that if moa were suddenly re-discovered, their release into the wild would be illegal! Furthermore, if they were rediscovered, their demands upon the existing conservation lands might force the Department to place the status of pest upon them. There are clear conflicts of interest within the responsibilities of this department!

More prospectsIt may sound heretical, but if the management of (say) all recreational hunting areas (RHAs), or conservation areas subject to ballots for recreational hunting (this would include all RHAs) was devolved to a trust, then the fees currently being charged by the Department of Conservation would be recovered by the trust instead. Transparency of management would be essential, but the monies would not disappear into the public account, remaining with the trust, from which it would finance the administration, education, enforcement and other overhead required for the successful operation of a hunting resource, or resources within a designated area. Yep, fees would have to be charged to those taking part in the ballots. Would this drive those who

reCreAtIONAl huNtING Futures, Or the WAy FOrWArD


Co-founders: Dr G B Orbell MBE, Arthur Hamilton

Patron: Ian Wright

National President: Tim McCarthy

Immediate Past President: Alec McIver

National Vice President: Bill O'Leary

North Island Members of the National Executive: Steve Corlett, Sandi Curreen South Island Members of the National Executive: Chaz Forsyth, Snow Hewetson

Chief Executive Officer: Dianne Brown

National Treasurer: John Crone

Honorary Solicitor: Peter Barrett

Auditor: Signal & Associates

lIFe members: R Badland QSM, M St J, J Bamford, D Bruce Banwell, W J I Cowan, M Dunajtschik, A S D Evans MNZM, D Hodder, R McNaughton MNZM, W OLeary, G Smith, I D Wright NZDA reCOGNIseD spONsOrs 2012/13:Halcyon Publishing, Kilwell, Hunting & Fishing NZ, NZ Guns & Hunting, Stoney Creek (NZ) Ltd, Swazi Apparel AFFIlIAteD tO: Council of Licensed Firearm Owners (COLFO), NZ Mountain Safety Council (NZMSC), Outdoors New Zealand (ONZ), Sporting Shooters of Australia Association Inc (SSAA), Shooting Sports Pacific Forum (through COLFO), International Hunter Education Association (IHEA)

brANChes: Ashburton, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Blue Mountains, Bush, Central King Country, Direct, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Golden Bay, Gore & Districts, Hastings, Hutt Valley, Kapiti, Kaweka, Malvern, Manawatu, Marlborough, Napier, Nelson, North Auckland, North Canterbury, North Otago, Northland, Otago, Palmerston, Porirua, Rakaia, Rotorua, Ruahine, South Auckland, South Canterbury, South Otago, South Waikato, Southern Lakes, Southland, Taihape, Taranaki, Taupo, Te Awamutu, Thames Valley, Tutira, Upper Clutha, Waikato, Waimarino, Wairarapa, Wairoa & Districts, Wellington, West Coast, Western Southland, Whangarei

All rights reserved opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the

New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS SERIAL NUMBER977 1171 656 006

A particular virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts,

they are dictated by his conscience.

Aldo Leopald

New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc, formed July 1937

press releAse: FIsh & GAme vOte tO remOve sub-GAuGe exemptION.Page 5, NZ Hunting & Wildlife issue 180.

Letters have been received from Barry Silvester, Greytown and Neil Hayes, Carterton advising that the press release published in the above magazine was the opinion of a regional F&G council and not a decision of the Fish & Game National Council. The press release mentions Southland Fish & Game (F&G) Council, a regional council five times.

were unwilling to pay into illegal hunting, or hunting elsewhere? Probably, and so the question becomes how could the bitter taste of paying for recreational hunting opportunity be sweetened by offering enhanced hunting opportunity, or enhanced hunting?

At present, the trust of most hunters placed in public land hunting administration was reflected by the observed percentage of hunting permits returned from balloted hunting areas once as high as 80%, now as low as 30%. This suggests that the present system, as it is, enjoys support to the extent that of all the hunters who apply for permits, only 30% return them, many with false figures about the time spent in the area, the number of animals seen, animals killed, or any combination of these. Such poor compliance totally destroys the value of hunting permit returns as a research tool.

Why would we want to have any analyses of hunting permits? Well, although hunting is a matter of luck, heavily enhanced by the skill and knowledge of the hunter (thats where the NZDA HUNTS courses come in), being able to derive values indicative, or suggestive of hunter success, such as the number of field hours per animal sighting, or per kill, would be useful for many hunters, especially if it was derived from reliable values supplied by willing hunters. It might save fruitless afternoons taking a beginner into an area for which there was almost no prospect of success, whether success is defined as seeing an animal, or firing at it. It would also provide a tool for monitoring animal populations, arguably superior to that of relying upon pellet counts, with their recognised variables in the rates of defaecation, decay and of seasonally adjusted dietary and behavioural factors. These may, if properly calibrated, be in the long run, cheaper to provide than other, less indirect, population censusing techniques.

Some would say that this would put the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association out of business. Well, it might knock its advocacy services on the head, but it is very likely the antler, horn and tusk, the photographic, literary and competitive shooting competitions would remain, but really, if NZDA faded away, yet

hunting opportunity improved, that would be a huge gain for the New Zealander who partakes in recreational hunting, so it might not matter. Readers will be aware, from earlier articles, of various surveys held to determine basic matters like the amount we spend on our sport, how far we are willing to drive, or travel, to get to a hunting area, and whether we rank the hunting of tahr higher than the hunting of deer, for example. All of these attitudinal surveys require hunter input, where views of the hunter of today are analysed by a group of todays hunters, for the hunters and hunting of tomorrow.

Just as we might need to know the proportion of semi-auto hunting rifle users, to better argue for consideration of changes in the basic rules of firearm safety, so de we need to know how hunters feel about what might be looming on tomorrows horizon. Regardless of whether it comes or not, we need to be open-minded to possibilities, good, bad and indifferent, which affect our sport. Refusing to contemplate the use of a more modern firearm, or clothing design, simply because it is non-traditional may be as backward as declining to read the review of a new book because you think you know it all. Failing to take part in an activity (such as a swap meeting) organised by a kindred body removes the opportunity for making new friends, discovering factors which your interest has in common with the activities of others, and perhaps above all, denies those other people the chance to see what nice folk recreational hunters really are.

Participation in all of these activities is part of preparing the way for tomorrow, whatever it brings. Be alert, be awake, and above all, take part, because what may be looming will not be all bad, indeed, holds the promise of creating a lot of good for hunters and for hunting. Conservative sticks in the mud do nothing to advance our sport. Surely, a progressive mindset and willingness to contemplate why not instead of why is the essence of all recreational hunting?

Lets apply these philosophies to the future, and to the future prospects for our sport!

chaz Forsyth

EDITORIAL


the ONly WAy Is WheN 1080 use CeAsesThe only way that deer (and dogs) will stop dying from 1080 is when 1080 use ceases outright. Continuing to support un-reliable deer repellent as a mitigation measure only plays into the hands of the poison industry and those environmental vandals who continue to push (and drop) 1080 upon us.

The authorities have studiously tried to deny trappers the opportunity to do the job for them properly and more efficiently for fear of being exposed as to the true cost of their continually failed (and over-budget) mass-poisoning operations. The 1080 poisoning empire in NZ is

simply doing whatever it can to ensure its own survival, not that of our delicate environment. Now there are even proposals for a completely pest-free-NZ doing the rounds.

There is of course the risk to hunters in these areas taking animals for human consumption even considerable time after these poison operations. Deer having consumed sub-lethal doses of poison baits can still pose a considerable health risk if being taken for human consumption even if having been shot a considerable time after the actual poison operation. Particular high areas of toxin

accumulation are in the liver and kidneys, and these organs should definitely not be taken from any shot animals should you choose to risk hunting in any pre-poisoned areas. Do not give these organs to your dog either. Normal cooking temperatures will not neutralise the toxin. Hunters in NZ should be aware of this if they want to continue to allow our forested lands to be a toxic dumping ground. Is this what we want to pass on to our next generation?

Dean Maisey, Bay of Plenty

Deer repelleNt WIth 1080 pOIsON Is A sOp!Waikato conservationist and award-winning documentary maker Clyde Graf spoke to a recent meeting in Blenheim and told an audience of 40 that deer repellent was a failure and dangerous.

Even if deer repellent was used the poison was still going into the ecosystem. To accept deer repellent was to accept the poisoning of New Zealand ecosystems and people.

"It's dropped into the waterways and poisons community water supplies. We should all be completely against deer repellent, in my

opinion, and the use of 1080 in any form is a breach of human rights and an inhumane assault against wildlife - introduced, and native," he said.

Deer repellent was a "pathetic soft tissue" offered to naive hunters by the Animal Health Board. "Deer repellent doesn't work, as is evident in many drops around the country, and that aside, it still kills everything," he said.

Deer repellent is mixed with 1080 poison on the claim wild deer will not eat the toxic pellets.

In one case hunters contributed money to the AHB to fund adding deer repellent to a poison drop.

"It is laughable," said Clyde Graf. "The AHB is over funded as it is, and now they have hunters - who should be their arch enemies - helping them to poison the forests!"

He explained 1080 is an insecticide - pesticide and killed birds and insects and continued to poison the next feeder up the food chain.

Tony Orman, Marlborough

COuNterpArtING ANtlers AND meAsurING OpINIONsFirstly I would like to thank Ray Web, Otago Branch AHT Judge/Douglas Score Coordinator Tutor for his excellent opinion piece in the latest NZ Hunting and Wildlife magazine.

It is refreshing to read Ray's explanations as well as some of Bruce Banwell's hard line comments. Ray's comment that all scoring systems are not perfect also is a very valid point.

Some comments I wish to add are that at the time that Norman Douglas created the Douglas Score, many of the top heads at the time such as the Otago Scottish genetic herd were generally very symmetrical, and therefore straight forward to score.

Arguably, many of the Rakaia South Canterbury strain, were not, often heavier beamed with some counter parting tines missing on the opposite antler. One could argue that the Douglas Score gives no benefit at all, to existing non-counter parting tines, yet the stag grew

and produced that extra weight in the antler's make up, making the trophy considerably and arguably more impressive. Opinion I guess.

So Ray is right that all scoring systems are not perfect. Russ Mitchell who was the official AHT NZDA national conference measurer for 30 years hunted with me in our youth and we discussed all this on many occasions. The beauty and greatness of a stag's head is surely in the eyes of the beholder. Eastern Europeans look for strength of antler, weight, pearling, colour, which are hardly rewarded in the Douglas Score, apart from beam. A 6.5 inch beam is a relatively heavy head whereas a 5.5 inch beam a light one. The reward is only one inch on either side making a total of two Douglas Score points. This is a weakness of value or reward in our system, but as already said, the Douglas Score system is simple and everybody can follow that.

Alain Jorion, Gisborne

leArNING the INs AND Outs OF huhNtINGA quick note to say thank you

for printing my HUNTs story in

the recent NZ Hunting & Wildlife

magazine. I am absolutely delighted!

Maybe my story will inspire keen

hunters-to-be to contact their local

branch of the NZDA and participate

in the HUNTs course. This course

has been a very positive and safe

way of learning the ins and outs of

hunting that another trainee and

myself are keen to become involved

and support the next crop of

trainees this year and beyond.

Robyn Harper South Canterbury Branch, NZDA

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


My total focus at the moment is on managing the revalidation of HUNTS instructors with a target completion date in mid-June. By the time this column goes to print all our current instructors will have been offered the opportunity to commit to another three year warranting as a NZDA instructor delivering hunter training under the HUNTS umbrella. In addition another group of NZDA members will have applied for warranting as new instructors and will be starting on a training and qualification pathway and will face revalidation in three years time.

So what is revalidation and why do we have it? We already have training and current instructors have qualifications and the support of their branches. So why?

Revalidation is like a warrant of fitness issued by the body ultimately responsible for the activities of instructors. In the case of HUNTS, NZDA warrants the instructors and authorises them to deliver the national programme which is clearly identified with our organisation.

In requiring instructors to revalidate, NZDA is in step with other outdoor recreation organisations and with public opinion on this.

Several years ago, Skills Active Aotearoa (the ITO covering Outdoor Recreation) conducted a review of the need for outdoor qualifications and included in this review were questions around the need to revalidate those qualifications to show currency of skills and knowledge and personal competency.

The survey showed that 95% of the respondents believed that there should be some process of revalidation to show currency. Furthermore 79% thought there should be a register of instructors so that the public and other stakeholders can be assured of instructor competency.

Skills Actives response to this was to facilitate the setting up of a register (NZ Register of Recreational Professionals). NZDA is part of this and the two organisations websites are linked with the security of our firearm owning instructors safeguarded with all inquiries being screened through National Office.

So what is involved in revalidation?

An invitation to revalidate has been sent out to all instructors along with a request to update his/her personal details and gets the endorsement of the local NZDA branch. The instructor must commit to operating under the HUNTS Standard Operating Procedures which along with qualified instructors is the mainstay of our safety management system. In compliance with this a current first aid certificate is required. The instructor signs a Consent to Disclosure that authorises MSC acting on the behalf of NZDA to initiate vetting by NZ Police. Any red flag arising out of the vetting is taken into account (in confidence) by the National Coordinator, HUNTS and the applicant is advised of the decision.

Currency is determined by an instructors record of activity and by observation by a visiting assessor. Up to this stage HUNTS is small enough for the National Coordinator to have personal knowledge of every one of our active instructors. This is certain to change as HUNTS grows and in anticipation suitably qualified instructors have been identified and this year will be warranted as assessors.

Finally a warrant is issued by NZDA with the instructors HUNTS qualification and level shown along with the expiry date. The warrant is valid only while the instructor is a current NZDA member and holds a current firearm licence.

Revalidation entails a lot of work but it is a positive. It reduces the likelihood of instructors continuing to operate beyond their level of competence or use by date. It provides the opportunity for instructors to retire or elect to take a supportive rather than an active delivery role in HUNTS. It is best practice in the outdoor industry and increases HUNTS credibility as a quality programme. NZDA as an organisation can have confidence in the procedures and equally important, the trainees on HUNTS courses will have confidence in the quality of their instructors.

NZDA HUNTS REPORT

huNts - revAlIDAtION Bi l l O Leary, Na t iona l Coord ina tor, NZDA HUNTS

Bill OLearyNational Coordinator,

NZDA HUNTS

We have a responsibility to keep these guys safe


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

DOC Is bOGeymANRecently in the Marlborough Express two letters appeared about the silent forest in the Maruia Valley of the Lewis Pass area.

The two correspondents were exactly right. In 1961, I first visited the Maruia area and have since returned a thousand times. Bird life was always prolific until 2003 with the first major 1080 topdressing. One month afterwards, the valley dead. In a letter to a newspaper I termed the area a green desert.

Bird life, once abundant in the Maruia, has been decimated. Nine months ago I was on the alpine tops and not one kea (once plentiful) was sighted.

The bogeyman in the 1080 poison racket is the Department of Conservation. The vast majority of 1080 drops on public land are administered for better or worse, by DOC. The Animal Health Board (AHB) drops the poison for an imagined pest, sanctioned by Department of Conservation. In short, DOC gives consent to AHB.

Conditions for the drop are meaningless and rarely monitored. Even helicopter breaches (poison over boundaries) results in no action. In the Taipo Valley on the West Coast, I had 1080 pellets dropped on me!

The AHB excuses to kill possums for Tb control are not valid. As a former pest control officer in Marlborough, I rate possum numbers low - everywhere.

An inaccurate skin test (20% error) on stock results in sleeper animals being unwittingly

transported. Many Tb outbreaks can be traced to stock transport. Ferrets with litters, three times a year, are a far more likely Tb vector than possums. 1080 largely does not kill ferrets. In any case NZ Tb infection rates are very low at about 0.2%.

The recreational hunting public and rational conservationists should be up in arms about 1080 and other equally destructive toxins such as brodifacoum.

Governments boast of a clean, green image and export marketing brand. It is blatant hypocrisy.

It was in the 1960s, Rachel Carson wrote her famous book, Silent Spring. The title is applying more and more to New Zealand.

If you dear reader, killed one native bird, you'd be prosecuted. DOC and AHB knowingly kill native birds and are not culpable.

Well what are you going to do about? Sit on your hands? Or exercise your democratic right and tell your MP, the Prime Minister and the public with letters to the editor, that it's wrong. Did you know government owns the 1080 factory?

Remember your taxes are funding, governments, departments and the Animal Health Board to run the 1080 racket. Your money is being used to kill your deer and your native birds and other native life, on your land.

How do you feel?

Laurie Collins, Spokesman Sporting Hunters Outdoor Trust

COLfO

dear MembersI would like to thank the members who approached Air New Zealand recently about the firearm transport charges for International travel, introduced late last year. These members pointed out to Air NZ that they were the only carrier applying such a charge, and they could lose support from their customers as a result. To Air New NZs credit, they acknowledged their customers were unhappy with the charge and have reversed their decision.

Thank you to all the members, who are also Air NZ customers, who raised their concern. As a

direct result of your effort the issue has been resolved quickly.

We have been concerned about the number of firearm owners who have contacted us recently as a result of their license renewal or annual/bi-annual security inspection. There have been instances where owners have felt intimidated or unsure of their rights and obligations in relation to registration of firearms. While we have been able to help some individual situations be resolved, we felt it would help if we outlined your rights and responsibilities when having your security inspected.

The purpose of a security inspection is to

ensure firearm owners have the required security for the number and type of firearms they possess. The inspection can be performed by either a police officer or a contracted civilian.

The arms officer is required to check your security is compliant and check the restricted firearms against the list they hold on your file. Restricted firearms are listed by make, model, calibre and serial number. While an officer may ask for these details in relation to other firearms you are under no obligation to give the information. However if you have other firearms the officer is required to check they are secured consistent with the conditions of


10801080, originally registered as an insecticide is a metabolic poison; it kills everything that requires oxygen for its metabolic processes; every bird, animal, insect. It is an ecosystem poison. New Zealand conservation is species based and seeks to advantage native species while eradicating non-natives, as such, it can be readily corrupted by blind bigotry and interestingly, greed. It is a deliberate and wilful poisoning of whole forest ecosystems. It advantages the fastest breeders, particularly rats and stoats; slower breeding natives are disadvantaged. It is driven by a created crisis of pests which are blamed for killing birds; it is a crisis that conservation organisations are able to use to garner money from public and corporates. The same crisis is used by the state to maintain an over $120 million a year government owned poisons industry. It is the governments own agencies which spread 1080 over forests, lakes and rivers. Scientists who have raised concerns have lost their jobs or had their funding cut, so the rest go along with it.

If there was a court in the world for crimes against nature, the New Zealand government should be before it for wilful ecocide, the death and destruction of native fauna. They should also be joined in the dock by the NZ Greens, WWF and Forest & Bird.

Generations to come will look back and be gob-smacked at our stupidity, just like we are gob-smacked about slavery and genocide.

W F Benfield, Martinbough

your license. Officers are not required to get photographs of your security. We recommend you keep a record of the make, model, calibre and serial number of all of your firearms, in case you have to report a loss or theft to the police and your insurance company.

From time to time there may be changes to the security questions you are asked, in line with changes in licensing requirements. The questions should be specific to your security and how you manage risks. If a new risk is identified it should not mean you automatically lose your endorsement. It may mean you should look at what you will do to reduce the risk.

For instance, if you have identified that one of your family has been convicted of a serious crime. You may decide to manage the risk of them having access to your firearms by meeting them away from your home, where your firearms are kept. Or you may decide to change the locks to your garage, or the alarm code, and ensue the area is always locked when they visit. While the response you have will vary depending on the situation, and the risk, the point is - you considered the risk of them having access to your firearms and responded appropriately to reduce that risk.

It is important that as firearm owners we are seen as proactive in ensuring the safety of our families and the wider community, in light of recent events overseas.

Please treat all officers with respect and courtesy, and ask them to treat you the same way. If you believe they have acted in an inappropriate way you can raise the matter with the Police National Manager of Licensing and Vetting, your local police station, COLFO or your club.

The AGM for the Council was held 25th May in Wellington, which was the second meeting this year and the first meeting to include the new Strategy Subcommittee. The Subcommittee will conduct itself through email or teleconference and meet face to face once per year. It will assist the Council in identifying emerging issues and planning response to threats.

We will continue to have informal meetings with the police representatives, and have spoken twice with the secondment, Richard Smith, to the role of Manager Police Vetting and Firearms Licensing. We have also commenced informal meetings with other agencies to develop open communication.

In March I took a week of leave from work and attended the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in New York. Previously we have sent letters to be read in the meetings but as this was the final meeting the Council felt it was important to attend.

The ATT is an attempt at an international agreement on the transfer of firearms, ammunition and their accessories between countries. It will effect the importation of, and travel with, firearms for many New Zealand owners over the next 5 to 10 years.

Over the last year our attendance at the United Nations meetings have been as an New Zealand delegate, however this carries with it both some privilege and constraint.

As delegate a major privilege is we are allowed to remain in the closed sessions, NGOs are asked to leave, and it is worth noting that organisation like Oxfam and Amnesty International do the same thing. The majority of firearm users support groups including NRA and WFSA are forced to leave.

A major constraint is we are not allowed to speak to the meeting except in support of the official New Zealand position.

I wanted to share my observations of the treaty, a key benefit to the council is - in the meetings I was focused on the wording of the treaty for up to 15 hours a day. Therefore the council benefits from my understanding, gained from discussing each line and word in detail for a week with colleagues who have an understanding of the United Nations process. The meetings are intense and detailed, with at times veiled or overt displays of politics; I will share some of my observations.

I caution supporting international positions before we completely understanding the proposers position as we could support positions that do not exist in New Zealand. For instance one group asked for support of their right to self-defence, however on further investigation we found it was the right to carry a loaded concealed firearm that they were seeking to protect.

Our understanding is New Zealand will sign the Treaty as part of an official event in early June; however implementation is expected to take around two years.

The ATT will be an International agreement between 155 countries to set a common standard for regulating and improving regulation of the trade in conventional arms. While it is the transfer of firearms, ammunition and their accessories that concerns us, the Treaty also includes aircraft, ships, tanks, missiles, artillery and combat vehicles.

Here are some of the sections I came to understand as important to us.In the preamble the Treaty states the factors affecting this agreement

the need to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent the diversion to the illicit market, or for

unauthorised end use and end users, including in the commission of terrorist acts,

the sovereign right of any state to regulate and control conventional arms exclusively within its territory, pursuant to its own legal or constitutional system,

mindful of the legitimate trade and lawful ownership, and use of certain conventional arms for recreational, cultural, historical, and sporting activities, where such trade, ownership and use are permitted or protected by law,

Then it states the Objects and Purpose The object of this Treaty is to: Establish the highest possible common

international standards for regulating or improving regulation of the international trade in conventional arms;

Prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent their diversion;

For the purpose of: Contributing to international and regional

peace, security and stability;

Reducing human suffering;

Promoting cooperation, transparency and responsible action by States Parties in the international trade in conventional arms, thereby building confidence among State Parties.

When you consider the object and purpose, a reasonable person does not have any issue with the intent of the Treaty, however like most considered agreements that can misinterpreted or diverted by individuals or groups who wish to push a personal agenda. This can come from both extremes of an argument.

This is why it is important New Zealand firearm owners follow the development of international policy; understand how it may impact on us, who is promoting it and what their agenda is.

Its firearm owners travelling internationally or importing firearms from overseas, the detail is where we can be affected. As the Treaty is adopted there will be opportunity for agencies or businesses to price gouge or impose rules far in excess of the intent of the Treaty, we need to be vigilant, and we have already seen an example of this in New Zealand prior to the final discussion on the Treaty.

If you have any thoughts or feedback please email me at [email protected]

all the best Michael dowling, chair, colF

o

COLfO


We have been peppered recently with the terrible stats of five different quad (atV) operators being subjected (for varying reasons) to terrible accidents/injury . . . so it is very timely that lance produced the following article for us to all read and reflect on what lessons can we each take from it that may cause us to modify what we currently practise that may help each of us stay just a lit tle bit safer. Many of us use 4Wd vehicles of varying shapes while hunting or out with the chainsaw stacking up the firewood for winter.

I know this is not the sexiest subject to discuss and to some people the

issue around Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the wearing of

helmets just raises a lot of potential headaches! However Suzuki asked

me to look at the subject as the question was raised.

Before we get into the debate of if, when, and what helmet to wear, lets

answer that question directly.

Can you use a chainsaw helmet as protection for when riding a

motorbike or quad? simple answer is NO!

Reasons: 1. Chainsaw helmets are designed to collapse from a blow directly

from above the head. (Majority of head injuries suffered from

quad accidents are sustained from a side or lateral blow).

2. Chainsaw helmets are impact rated very low, certainly not rated

for any impact that would occur from an impact at 30-40 km/

ph. Also the chainsaw helmet is reliant on the internal harness to

take the majority of the impact as opposed to blocking a direct

blow.

3. Chainsaw helmets have very minimal means of being able to

be restrained on the head chinstraps are not rated for impact

blows.

Right, the question is out of the way lets look at the debate of helmet

use and its greater implications to the rural sector.

It is common for workplaces to experience disputes or discussions

over PPE. These discussions are necessary to ensure that the best,

suitable PPE is used to control a hazard, ie sometimes safety eyewear

can be heat-resistant sunglasses, sometimes they should be goggles.

Sometimes head protection comes from a hard hat, sometimes from

a bump cap. PPE should never generate new hazards when trying to

control another.

This also leads onto the current debate concerning the rash of fatalities

on quads and the continued call for helmet use as though this will solve

all the problems associated with quad riding!

The fact remains the helmet can only be regarded as the last line of

defence and it has a limited effect. The helmet protects the head but

nothing else and it may be worth identifying the most frequent types of

injuries incurred by quad riders to see if other hazard control options

should be considered.

This is supported by the stats quad bikes are responsible for almost a

third of farm fatalities with 40% of them from head injuries therefore

there are 60% of quad bike fatalities that are caused by injuries

other than head trauma, (how are these fatalities being prevented or

reduced?)

Am I against helmet wearing of course NOT; however I agree with the

thought that any PPE is not a substitute for good work practices it

simply enhances or increases the chance of yourself or workers finishing

the day safely!

Looking at the greater issue of quad riding - let s dispel some myths: accidents only happen at speed? The average weight of farm quads on sale in New Zealand is

approximately 270 kilos when a load that heavy lands on you, you have

little chance of escape regardless of your travel speed.

The high centre of gravity on a quad bike means that accidents can

happen even when travelling at walking pace accidents relating to

ARTICAL

helmets and Quad rid ing in Genera lBy Lance Hare, Wa irarapa Branch

The normal loading for hunting. But a helmet will complete the look?

Even a helmet will not save these two


speed are generally caused by inattention or by

the rider doing another task.

Get into the habit of assessing the terrain

before choosing to ride over it

If youre not confident at riding go

another way, or turn around and use a

more appropriate means to complete the

task

Set appropriate speed limits on different

terrain or areas of the worksite and as

they relate to different weather and

conditions

Dont create time and task conflicts for

your staff which will force them to take

short cuts

accidents only happen on hills? Many of the accidents are happening on flat

terrain sometimes riders may perceive the

ground to be flat, but hazards such as rough ground, stop banks and

drains can be enough to cause a roll-over.

Note: When a rider rolls on a hill they often have the advantage of gravity and are able to move away from the quad more easily than those

who roll the bikes on the flat where the bike is more likely to land directly

on the rider.

I know how to ride a quad properly - Ive been riding for years! Just because Ive been buying Lotto tickets for years doesnt mean Im

going to win this Saturday, (would be nice though)!

While experience can be an advantage, it can also breed complacency

if bad habits are ingrained through years of riding quads in an unsafe

manner, then the rider, no matter how experienced, is at high risk.

We cant wrap our kids up in cotton wool rural kids should be out playing and enjoying the farms - thats how they learn! Fact: Between 2006 and 2012 there were 30 people killed on quads in

New Zealand, 8 of them children under 16!

Fact: 60 children injured [requiring hospitalisation] each year with 77% of them the driver!

Fact: Generally (note: there will always be an exception) children dont have the strength, body weight and mental ability to master

active riding techniques needed to safely control 270 kilos of

powered machinery!

Fact: Rural kids grow up learning different skills from city kids but that doesnt mean their bodies or minds are grown up enough to

handle adult quad bikes!

Fact: Going out on a farm unsupervised and driving all over different/difficult terrain is not a learning environment it is simply a raffle

ticket that the child gets lucky with! Supervision is the only way

children can learn what is right, and what the parameters are to

their quad and its capabilities!

Fact: The powers to be dont want children to be excluded off quads

and farm bikes in general.Just simply riding the appropriate

sized vehicle for their stature and capabilities!

all this pc safety is nonsense. What happened before quads - we had horses and they were just as big a problem but kids stil l rode them! Fact: Quads, three wheelers have been in New Zealand since 1978

[with the exception to earlier imported ones].

Fact: The population in New Zealand in 1978 was 3,165,200 with a Rural % of 58% = 1,835816 people living rurally the population

in 2012 was 4,445,063 and the rural sector had declined to a

13.2% share which means only 586,748 [1/2 of 1978] people live

rurally! We can assume that living rurally the vast majority of that

population is exposed to rural lifestyle and work.

Fact: We have 3 x the amount of accidents on farm quads today than we did in 1978 with only the potential risk population!

What is the point!! The fact is the rural sector has increased in productivity but

managing it with less people!

We use more powerful tools ie, for the first 10 years that quads

were introduced they only had a 250 cc rating - now the average

is 500cc.

Whether you are fencing or farming the majority of businesses

are doing more work with fewer employees.

The same amount of ground has to be covered but there are still

only 24 hours in a day.

We expect ourselves and our employees to go harder and

faster for longer! A reaction has to occur and Worksite safety is

generally the first to suffer.

and where does the old statement of horses versus quads come into this? Horses on farms have declined from over 475,000 at its height in 1911

to under 65,000 in 2012. The farm hack was no different to todays

tools. You used the horse suited to the task miniature ponies dont


What OSH expect in a commercial operation

pull ploughs very well but kids can ride them; Clydesdale horses dont

suit for long riding but pull implements very well.

Yes people fell off them but as a rule most horses were used for their

intended application!

Back to the helmet! The legal position on wearing helmets in the workplace: Section 10 [2] [b] of the Act specifically requires employers to provide

suitable safety equipment for their employees and make sure it is worn

whenever a workplace hazard can be minimised. When a quad bike

is used for work, the hazard of losing control of the bike can only be

minimised because no amount of knowledge or training can completely

eliminate an incident from occurring.

Head injuries to the rider will be deemed as a foreseeable harm situation,

and a helmet is a known means of reducing the severity of a head

injury So under that section of the Act, a quad bike helmet is a legal

requirement!

What type of helmet can I wear? Be cautious on this one all OSH advice will be centred on what the

manufacturer recommends but the manufacturer generally has a

vested [$$$] interest in the sale of recommended helmets.

They state that you must wear a motorbike helmet due to the impact

rating. The rating for off road is based on 80 km/h average. Note

you can purchase downhill racing mountain bike helmets (these are

the top of the line) with an impact rating of 120km/hr. the bike

manufacturers will say the mountain bike helmet is not suitable as the

push bike is not motorised!.... Ahhhh, Hello #^*%* surely the point is the

speed of impact not the format to getting to that speed!!

I have taken this question to the Head OSH inspector and discussed the

different helmets out on the market; the agreement was there are two

prime factors to why people currently dont wear them:

Its not cool and or no one else wears them the more people

wear them the more they will become accepted

The current (manufacturer recommended) helmets are too

uncomfortable, too heavy and way too hot in summer

If we can have usable practicable light weight and dare I say it good

looking hats (cool looking) that can be worn with a beanie or cap under it

we will start getting some acceptance.

The conclusion to my discussion with the Head OSH inspector is as

long as the employee is making all reasonable steps to comply and is

supplying their staff with approved impact and restraint rated helmets ie

the mountain bike helmet, OSH is being covered.

Conclusion: In summary yes it is a legal requirement for the employer to supply

helmets when riding quads but it is also a legal requirement for the

employee to actually wear them. You cannot watch them every

moment and they need to take responsibility for their actions!

As I said at the beginning, this is not the sexiest of subjects but an

important one all the same!

cheers. lance hare


WILD GAME - ANOTHER ASPECT

About ten thousand years ago when the glacial epochs had ceased in Europe, and Britain was an extension of the continents, Red deer crossed to occupy the area. The British mainland is surrounded by a series of islands left behind by this process Ireland, Hebrides, Shetlands and the Orkneys. Although Red deer occupy the Hebrides and parts of Ireland, recent research has revealed that the deer at Killarney in the South-West Ireland are not native to the area and have probably been introduced there from the mainland by Celtic invaders a couple of thousand years ago.

It has been suggested on several occasions that New Zealand pioneered farming deer but evidence available around Britain suggests that the Gaelic Celts may have practiced the process centuries ago. While there are no wild Red deer on the Shetlands and Orkney Islands today, there is evidence of their presence in the past. Extremely swift currents in the sea between Britain and the outlying islands must have posed problems for the Celts who would not have had the motorised vessels available for ferries to those groups of islands plying there today. So it would appear that when Ireland and Highland Scotland existed as a Gaelic Kingdom, trade in animals may have been active to provide skins, meat and other usable parts. They were an important commodity to those ancient populations of people who had adopted that area as their traditional home.

These findings and facts should prove interesting in New Zealand as the majority of our Red deer genetics owe their origin to these animals. In fact, samples of Otago Red deer sent to Ireland as part of this research project revealed a relationship between those of Otago and some areas of Scotland. Flesh samples from a number of Otago herd animals were sent to Ireland by the writer.

A sNIppet ON the reD Deer OF brItAINBy d Bruce Banwe l l , nat iona l life Member

some fine specimens of red deer from Killarney, county Kerry, Ireland.

CHARTERS BLUFF

Scenic Trips Fishing Hunting Diving TrampingHunt Stewart Island

Contact: Bob & Chris HawklessPh: (03) 212 7254 - Fax: (03) 212 8321 - Mob: 0274 335 801

Email: [email protected]: www.manacharters.com

47ft Morgan Hull charter vessel, 650hp V8 Fiat engine, cruises at 12-13 knots.

Bob Hawkless: ex commercial fisherman for 25 years plus 20 years hunting experience on Stewart Island.

Hire equipment: 12ft Stabi Crafts, 12ft dinghys, outboard motors, camping equipment,

gas bottles & dive bottles.


Get your special edition copy of A History of Hunting - The Deerstalkers Part 2 1987 2012ISBN 978-1-877566-35-6

Published by The Halcyon Press

Format: 240 x 170 mm. 324pages. Colour & black and white photographs

Recommended Retail Price: $49.99 (This is the limp edition available in all good book stores)

Limited edition of 500 numbered copies. Exclusive to NZDA. Case bound (hardback), gold embossed on cover with NZDA 75th logo and gold embossed with title on spine, head and tail bands, with full colour dust jacket $55.00 each including posting and packaging within New Zealand.

Send to: New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc, PO Box 6514, Marion Square, Welington 6141

or fax 04 801 7368 or email [email protected] the terms of the Privacy Act 1993, I acknowledge that you are retaining my name and club details

for the purpose of mailing further information on NZDA and related matters.

Name: ____________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________________

I enclose my cheque for $ __________________________________

Or charge my Visa Mastercard

Expiry date: _____________________

Cardholder name: ________________________________________

Please send me___________ copies of A History of Hunting (special edition) @ $55.00 each


YOUNG HUNTER

FIrst the FuN, theN the hArD pArtHayden Me l l es, Kapit i Branch, 15 -years-o ld

On a warm morning in October I woke up ready for a great days hunting with Ron, Anton, Dad and Conner, who also shot his first deer a month before hand. We arrived at the block at around 12:30pm, talked to the owners, and then took off. We started to walk towards a gully where we thought the deer might have been sheltering from the pounding wind. As we were walking along the ridge we stopped to have a look through the binos. We scanned the opposite face for around ten minutes until Anton saw a young Red hind on a clearing feeding on some shrub. We took some time to look for an ideal position to take a shot. We spotted a knob that was around 70 metres from the deer. I was starting to feel the buck fever that Dad had told me about many times. I lay down in a comfy position to shoot from. There wasnt enough time to find a rest or take off the pack as the deer was only two metres from the bush line and was making its way to it. My heart was pounding, I was so nervous, but I placed the cross hairs on the deers shoulder and the .303 barked. As the reassuring sound of a thud echoed back the animal disappeared into the bush. The bush then came alive as around seven hinds ran out of the bush and one straight up the hill where we had shot from. After everything settled down Dad and I went for a walk down to try and find the deer while the others just waited up the top to guide us to the clearing. We got to the clearing and headed into the bush to try and find it. We were walking up and down scanning the area for ten minutes but there was no sign of it or any blood. At that point I was feeling that disgusting feeling you get when you wound something. We waved the others down to help but at that point I had convinced myself that it was still running, but they still came down nevertheless. As soon as they got there Ron said he could smell deer and followed his dog like senses to my DEER. It turns out that it was a clean shot straight through the lungs. But all the fun was over. Then came the hard part, gutting it and carrying it out. It was my first time gutting something all by myself but I had some good help on hand to tell me what to do. I still managed to do a lot wrong though. Ron then went off to get the quad and I started to carry it out to where we were getting picked up by the quad. Dad and I took the deer home and hung it. Everyone came over the next day to do some butchery which was fun and a great experience. I got to cut out the back steaks and the eye fillets. All in all it was a great day that I will treasure for the rest of my life and I would really like to thank Ron Canham for organising the trip and creating a great memory.

then came the hard part; carrying it out.

the author and his first animal



Teva Darkis, Thames Valley NZDA, from New Caledonia

with a nice Rusa yearling shot at sunset in New Caledonia.

sam arthur with his goat on the thames Valley nZda Kids survival camp Weekend

teva darkis from new caledonia with a nice rusa yearling shot at

sunset in new caledonia. teva is a member of tVda.

angus Mckay, north canterbury Branch who is 7-years-old spotted these two wallabies on his first hunting trip with his dad when walking a long way and high onto the back hills of cave.

James officer, taupo Branch, 7 years-old who, assisted by his father Barrie, shot his first deer, a Fallow stag on a genuine bush stalk. the rifle used was a .222 sako Vixen.

WInner oF the KIllWell prIZe p

acK

DOC upDAteNATIONAL HUNTING ADVISOR

By Ian Cooksley, National Hunting Advisor/Community RelationsContact details: Department of Conservation - Te Papa Atawhai Telephone: 06 350 9705 E mail: [email protected]

Manawatu Rangitikei Area Private Bag 11010 Palmerston North 4442 717 Tremaine Avenue, Palmerston North 4414

As part of the National Hunting Advisor role various information sources are monitored to obtain an appreciation of current issues that are either concerning hunters or initiatives that are supported.

Media: Two issues have been prominent in recent reporting one being hunter safety and the other a private initiative to make Stewart Island pest free.

hunter safety: With tragic deaths in 2012 as the result of non intentional shooting, safety is of prime concern to all agencies and organisations involved in hunting activities.

An interagency group (including NZDA) has been formed to have a look at what is being done for hunter safety currently and what new initiatives could be introduced.

It can not be over emphasised that at the end of the day the responsibility rests with the person pulling the trigger but there may be actions that can be supported to lessen the risk. (eg HUNTS programme.)

pest free stewart Island: This private initiative seeks to rid Stewart Island of rats, cats and possums. Whilst a scoping document has been prepared that concluded the proposal was technically feasible there are significant logistical issues that need to be addressed and to date no application has been received by the Department.

Concerns have been raised by hunters about any operation having an adverse impact on the Whitetail deer herd on the Island.

nZ Mountain safety council non Intentional Firearms Incident report: This report is compiled annually and ten incidents are recorded for 2012 including three fatalities.

The primary cause of the three fatalities

was mistaken identity with secondary factors being separating from hunting companion in two incidents and spotlighting in the third incident.

The above causes (especially identification of the target and not separating from a hunting companion) have been the subject of numerous safety message programmes over a long period. Recent incidents have highlighted the problem of only identifying a target through the rifle scope (with its limited field of view) and hunters not wearing high visibility clothing that covers a substantial part of the body.

Spotlighting is increasingly being involved in firearms incidents and with the increased availability of night vision equipment is likely to feature more in the future. For those intending to purchase such equipment please be aware that hunting at night is not permitted on DOC administered land.

Visitor website comments:This work monitors the visitor feedback website and although is primarily about recreational facilities does capture some hunting comments.

Recent feedback in April was positive about the assistance a DOC employee rendered to a hunting party in the Tongariro Forest.

departments compliance register: Contains information on offences against various Acts the Department administers and is monitored for issues that could be avoided or discouraged through actions the Department could implement. The following convictions were registered for 2012.

conservation act: WARO activity in prohibited area. (Also

taken under WAC Act.)

Helicopter landing without authority.

Fixed wing operating without authority.

Spotlighting.

Discharging crossbow in dangerous manner.

Breach of hunting permit condition.

national parks act: Two cases of hunting with dogs.

Spotlighting.

Wild animal control act: Hunting without permit.

Spotlighting and no permit.

hunting forum website:This website forum gives individual hunters the opportunity to debate hunting related issues and transfer information. Recent issues have included:

Whitetail deer and the future of the Wakatipu herd.

Aerially Assisted Trophy Hunting (AATH) legislation.

Various 1080 operations and their impact on deer herds present.

The above snap shot illustrates that the issues facing hunting and hunting management are many and varied with some being longstanding and often debated. Around the country, hunters and the Department are working together on issues of mutual agreement and for the others continuing dialogue is encouraged.

Ian cooksleynational hunting advisor.


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mIlestONe Just ANOther DAy FOr pIlOt

Helicopter pilot Richard Hannibal Hayes has joined an elite group of aviators by logging 30,000 flying hours.

A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said Mr Hayes' achievement was significant, even by international standards.

"It is a significant achievement for a pilot anywhere in the world to reach this level of flying hours. It certainly makes the pilot part of a very

elite group of aviators."

But Mr Hayes, on reaching the milestone, said it was just another day at the office.

"It's what happens. I've been in the game a long time," he said.

Along with his wife, Carol, Mr Hayes owns Southern Lakes Helicopters, based in Te Anau.

He has mostly flown in Southland and Fiordland, although in recent years he has made trips to the sub Antarctic region and the Auckland Islands.

Mr Hayes began training to become a helicopter pilot in 1973, was employed by Tim Wallace in 1975 to fly helicopters for deer recovery, then started his own business in 1980.

Since those early years, he has flown helicopters to help with avalanche control, fire fighting and conservation, and was recognised for his work in search and rescue when he received the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000, then the Outstanding Airman Award for helping to save lives in a 2005 Queenstown fire.

Only one pilot in the world is given the award in any year, and Mr Hayes was the first New Zealander to receive it.

Mr Hayes said he would not have come this far without the support of his wife or his staff at Southern Lakes Helicopters.

"You stick at the coal face and do the hours, but a major amount of work goes on in the background."

Mr Hayes said if given the opportunity to start over, he would still be where he is today.

"It's not a bad job most of the time. Would I do it all again? Probably. It's what we do, it's our job. We're not in it for glory and fame."

hannah Mcleod, Fairfax media


A new book on t h e ext inc t moa t hrows some in terest ing l i g h t on New Zea la nd s ecosystem be fore Europeans and deer co l on ised t h e l a ndQuinn Berentson of Dunedin, scientist, writer, documentary film maker and photographer, laments the passing of the moa into extinction. It must have been a wonderful sight to see the moa, nine species in all, inhabiting the lowland forests and plains, the forest and snow grass tops, he says. But sadly the image is only one fit for the imagination, not the eyes.

Scientists have termed the killing out of the moa as a blitzkrieg extinction; such was the ruthless and rapid way it was carried out.

All that is left alive of the moa is the extraordinary story of its long life and sudden death, he says.

In 2009, Quinn Berentson set about chronicling the moa story. During studies on the Otago goldfields Quinn found many references from European gold mining days to numerous moa bones.

I became increasingly fascinated and it evolved into a story begging to be researched and told. Like I did, most New Zealanders know stuff-all about the moa.

Quinn describes the moa as the most

unusual and unique family of birds that ever lived, a clan of feathered monsters that were isolated on the small islands of New Zealand. Left to the wildest whims of evolution, they became so large and different from the rest of the avian group so that they became almost as much mammal as bird.

That reference to mammal is of particular interest to deerstalkers for debate has arisen in recent years that the oft-quoted statement that New Zealands vegetation evolved in the absence of browsing animals is simply not true. As I outlined in my book About Deer and Deerstalking 2004), before 1400 AD the pristine New Zealand was most likely, heavily browsed.

New Zealands vegetation passed through three regimes:1. Up to about 1400 AD, moa and other birds

browsing.

2. 1400-1900 AD (moas extinct), no browsing.

3. 1900 to present day, browsing by deer and other big mammals and possums.

Quinn Berentson was fascinated by the dominance of the moa.

With little competition and no ground predators moas thrived for millions of years. Its likely that period involved 50 or 60 million years.

They adapted and diversified to fill virtually every terrestrial environment, from sand dunes to flax swamps, deep primeval rain forest to frozen sub-alpine tussock. Some were the size of turkey while the largest, the giant moa became the tallest bird to have ever lived on the planet.

Then the Maori arrived from Polynesia. Seemingly in a geological blink of an eye, the moa disappeared, erased from history so quickly and thoroughly that today New

Zealanders scarcely give them a thought.

They have become creatures of myth and urban legend - ghosts in the bush, says Quinn.

Curious, Quinn set about delving into the history.

Modern technology helped enormously. Mainly in the last decade science and technology have utterly transformed our view of the moa and brought these extraordinary creatures back into the light.

DNA samples from places like North Canterburys Pyramid Valley and Honeycomb Hill in north Westland, revolutionised moa science.

Our perception of the most iconic of New Zealand birds has been transformed from a mysterious monster of legend that many doubted existed, into a living breathing group of animals that are the most studied and understood of all the many extinct species of animal that walked the Earth before us.

Theres another side to the moa story too and it involves humans and their foibles.

When European science came across the moas in the 1840s, the flightless birds were described as the zoological find of the century. The moa of the South Pacific colony made headlines in British papers and New Zealand was known as The Land of the Moa - not the Kiwi. Indeed in 1901, when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visited New Zealand,

OPINION

NO mOre mOABy Tony Orman

A rep l i ca o f t h e g ia nt moa a t Ar t hur s Pass. I n a l l t h ere were most l ike l y n in e spec ies o f moa f rom t h e g ia nt to one t ha t inhabit ed snowgrass tops. >


the menu from the royal supper at Wellington, featured not a kiwi, but a moa!

Rugby cartoons about the same time showed a smiling moa (New Zealand) with a battered lion dangling from its beak. It was captioned The Moa and the Lion. The moa was used as the symbol of the All Blacks right from their first tour.

Within the wider scientific fraternity the mystical, mysterious moa became the focus of intense scrutiny that became like a Shakespearian tragedy.

Baser human nature took over and highly personal and nasty infighting soon broke out amongst those who competed to study them, says Quinn.

Britisher Richard Owen, a scientist of an enormous conceit and competitiveness, further tainted with a spiteful, vindictive streak, possessively clung to his Father of the Moa reputation that was founded on his publishing of a moa paper in 1838. Quinn describes him as the most unscrupulous scientist in Britain who would without conscience hijack others discoveries.

Owen clashed viciously with another scientist Gideon Mantell and later Mantells son, Walter. Meanwhile in New Zealand noted early explorers like William Colenso and Bishop William Williams innocently entered the fray. In later years geologists the ambitious and ego-driven Julius von Haast and James Hector became embroiled in feuding of the moa.

Quinn Berentson skillfully brings the human jostlings and clashes over the moa to light.

Apart from the jealous 19th century pantomimes, plagarism and pirating over the moa, what of the bird itself?

Moas were flightless birds up to 3.5 metres high with the giant species having succulent 30 to 40 kg drumsticks a metre long. The birds were relatively easy to kill while human-induced bush fires ravaged their habitat as well as killing many. Quinn Berentson estimates the moa population was at least one million. But scientist Les Batchelar in 1986 put the number at between six and 12 million. The late Dr Graeme Caughley reckoned more in line with Batchelar. But who can say for sure? Really no one.

It is difficult to estimate the total population of either moa or moa hunter involved in the great slaughter but it is obvious that a relatively small population of humans wiped out an enormous number of moa, says Quinn.

DNA testing just last year revealed there were very likely

nine species. Moas lived everywhere in New Zealand except the Chatham Islands. The giant three metre plus moa lived in both the North and South Islands. The metre high Upland Moa in the South Island high country and the medium sized Crested Moa in north-west Nelson. Then there was the Heavy-footed Moa and Eastern Moa in the eastern South Island, the turkey-sized Mantells Moa in only the North Island, the squat Stout-legged Moa in all the North Island and eastern South Island and the smallest of all but most widespread - the

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Little Bush Moa - all of the North Island plus western and southern South Island.

The slaughter of the moa was amazingly rapid. Science has revealed within just 100 years of human settlement, moa were extinct in most areas of New Zealand. Radio-carbon dating from moa bone and charcoal suggest the most intense moa hunting happened across the 14th and 15th centuries.

The huge moa meat-works along the east coast of the South Island were at their peak at the same time as the Ming Dynasty of China, the Inca Empire in South America and Christopher Columbuss discovery of the New World in 1492, says Quinn.

By the time Da Vinci was making his early sketches of the Mona Lisa, the moa had been decimated and was on a very steep, slippery slope to extinction.

The life and biology of moa times is fascinating in itself. The moas only natural predator - before the invasion of Polynesians - was the Haasts Eagle which was at the top of the food chain in ancient New Zealand, the equivalent

of a lion, tiger or great white shark. The giant eagle had a three metre wingspan and Quinn estimates that by about 1350 as the Haasts eagles habitat in eastern South Island had been burned and the moas exterminated, they died out. It is probable the eagles were also hunted by humans.

Quinn Berentson describes the Kaikoura to Dunedin stretch of the eastern South Island as the the moa belt as it contained the greatest populations and species diversity of moa in New Zealand. There the Polynesian settlers (Maori) established hunting camps at major river mouths. Moa carcasses were probably floated down rivers from the hinterlands.

Some of the South Canterbury and Otago camps were so huge and specialised that they were virtually moa meat-works where the birds were butchered and cooked on a scale that almost defies imagination, he says.

The Waitaki River mouth meat-work was probably over 120 hectares with 1200 ovens. Likely 100,000 moa were butchered and cooked there.

Its probable moas were mostly solitary with a network of paths which hunters located and then ambushed the birds with long wooden spears. The moas fought vigorously but while on one foot during a struggle, they were easily capsized and set upon.

The blitzkrieg was swift. For example, it seems within 10 years the Coromandel moa population was exterminated. But Quinn dismisses suggestions of blood on the hands of early Maori.

Man, even modern, has blood on his hands. Everyones ancestors wiped something out, he says.

The moa might have survived in a small pocket until 1900. One or two authorities believe it possible that when in 1948, NZDAs founder Doc Geoffrey Orbell discovered the takahe in the Murchison Mountains Fiordland, perhaps - just perhaps - one or two survived there too.

But Quinn Berentson considers none survive today - and the wilderness of New Zealand is poorer for their absence.

Moa - The Lif e and D ea t h o f New Zea l a nd s Legendary Bird by Quinn Berentson, pub l ish ed by Cra ig Pot ton Pub l ish ing . See book review be l ow.

Title: Moa: The Life and Death of New Zealand's Legendary Bird

Author: Quinn Berentson, (2012)

Publisher: Craig Potton Publishing, Nelson, New Zealand

ISBN: 9781877517846

Format: Hard cover, 250x200mm, 300 pages

RRP: $49.99

Reviewed by: Chaz Forsyth

One of a long line of beautifully illustrated books from the stable of Craig Potton Publishing, this one continues, but on that most engaging of topics, the New Zealand

Moa. Your reviewer was long ago, inspired to wishful thinking by John Johns, a photographer for the former New Zealand Forest Service, to photograph a moa. This book is the next best thing to a time travel machine, because it unravels a lot more of the mysteries about these birds, whose living possibly overlapped that of the earliest European visitors to New Zealand. It's quite a triumph, because these enormous birds died out at least a century and a half ago, perhaps earlier.

Thankfully, the book also includes material which reflects the advances conferred by the availability of DNA analyses, and these revelations alone make it really worthwhile. The author has used his talents and his university qualifications to make this book readable, and as far as may be inferred from the available (post-mortem) observations, exact.

From the early rumours, through the wrangles between Messrs Mantell, Jones, Chasland, and Drs Owen, Haast and Sir James Hector, the key personalities of the worlds of science on both sides of the globe are named, along with their differing views about what the birds ate, how they carried their heads, where they

went, and who killed them. Controversy barely describes it (older deerstalkers' members will recall the interminable arguments at annual conferences about the Wapiti of Fiordland. These would have paled into insignificance compared to the scientific debates about the moa).

Maps, illustrations, and diagrams lend colour and authenticity to this exciting assemblage of facts, tinctured with fiction and arguably the best assumptions, supported by the latest inferences. Berentsen has done a wonderful job, updating and enhancing earlier efforts by Duff and many others. It is clear that if moa were rediscovered, the botanically-dominated wildlife managers of the Department of Conservation would have real difficulties accommodating the demands made upon the environment by these mega herbivores, because they would devour plenty of our forest browse.

I'd still love to see moa, and this book provides plenty of clues about what to seek. Fanciful, no: factual, in the main, yes. For just now, this book is the goto reference for many matters moa. On that basis, I have no hesitation recommending it.

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INJury CuresBy Maureen Co l eman, Thames Va l l ey Branch

sprAINsA badly sprained ankle in the bush is something that none of us need....and I was no different to anyone else exc

New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 181 - Winter 2013

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Transcript of New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 181 - Winter 2013