Issue 100 - April/May 2024 |
On Sale Thursday 11th April2024

Well, back in 2007 when Fi and I first made the jump from primary production and agriculture to magazine production, who would have thought we’d still be here 17 years later producing our 100th issue!

It has been a huge roller-coaster ride with the fight for common sense conservation and bureaucracy occupying such a large chunk of our time. The years have flown, and we really are making some gains now with the current government seeing the value in what we’ve been saying for many years. I know I’m preaching to the converted with our readers, but hey, I’ve got a captive audience so you’ve gotta listen!

We all need to become ambassadors for the great work the Wapiti, Sika and Tahr Foundations and Fish&Game NZ are doing in the outdoor recreation and conservation space. The public of New Zealand are largely oblivious to what we do and it’s too easy for the ardent ideologists like Forest&Bird to trump up smear campaigns based on deliberate untruths and misleading information, which unfortunately the main stream media just seem to lap up. Look at what’s happening right now with Forest&Bird attacking the process by which the FWF manages Wapiti area of Fiordland. Despite the fact that the FWF are the only group doing regular deer control backed up by vegetation monitoring to ensure agreed biodiversity outcomes are met, and running other major conservation projects like their predator trapping networks at the same time, the ideologists would rather cut off their nose to spite their face and risk kicking the whole project into touch. Getting rid of Wapiti out of Fiordland National Park will just mean they will be replaced by far larger numbers of Red deer that no one will pay to hunt, the biodiversity of the area will be destroyed, and all the money raised for the FWF’s epic conservation programs will go out the window. One rabid individual told me he’d rather see no deer control done anywhere in Fiordland National Park despite wanting all deer gone, than have a hunter led group like the FWF doing it. The principle of hunters paying to do deer control and run other conservation programs had him in a tailspin. Unfortunately people like him are most unlikely to change their minds, but there are plenty of sensible pragmatic New Zealanders who will see the win win here if only we can get the message out. And that’s where we can all help out. Any time you get the chance to help educate the uninformed, please take the time to do so in as non-confrontational manner as possible. Remember, we are the good guys who are actually putting feet on the ground in a lot of remote places where no one else is doing any conservation work - including the Department of Conservation.

And the other side of that coin is make sure we all are the good guys! We have to lead by example. I seem to find myself saying the same things over and over and the same selfish few continue to drag us all down with their actions. The only way we can get to these repeat offenders is by those of us who are in the hills with them, calling them out and educating them into doing the right thing - whether it be game animal management wise, behavior amongst other outdoor users, people we’re sharing huts with etc. As I write this the first period Wapiti guys are in the hills and hopefully this year we won’t get any reports of parties shooting any four year old 12 pointers and leaving rubbish and unburied faeces scattered about. The tahr ballot is also just around the corner, and as we said last issue, the seriously reduced resource we are all going to have to share and manage carefully into the future cannot stand individuals or groups making pigs of themselves on the bulls. Again, try and get this message across to any hunters you meet who don’t seem to be playing the game.

Looking back on the game animal management space 100 issues ago we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. If we all work together and keep making progress it will be exciting to see what our game animal herds will look like by the 200th issue!

Opening weekend of the Waterfowl Season is coming up fast. If you have an opportunity, try and take a newbie waterfowler out with you, show them the ropes, and help them become passionate participants of our wonderful pastime. And teach them to process and utilise their birds. This is the only way we are going to preserve our sport into the future, by bringing new people into the sport, and harvesting only as many gamebirds as we can eat. Shooting to waste will not be tolerated by the non-hunting public, and we should not tolerate it amongst ourselves either. And even though one South Island region still has a ridiculously high bag limit, you don’t have to keep shooting until you reach it – 50 mallards a day per person is absolute insanity and impossible to justify no matter how you look at it.

Ok, with that all behind us get on out into the hills and wetlands and have a jolly good time with friends and family while making sure you bring home something to eat!

Wishing you all a safe and successful roar and hot barrels for May 4th!