Issue 78 - Aug/Sep 2020 |
On Sale Mon 3rd August 2020

Tahrmageddon 2, it’s hard to believe, but here we are again…

I’m not going to go over the way this debacle has played out so far, as it’s covered in other parts of this issue of the magazine.

Where to from here? By the time you read this DOC contractors will have completed the 60 hours of culling in National parks DOC has instructed them to do. Most of the DOC staff we have spoken to are also very unhappy about having to be involved with this culling program and are only doing their job.

There will be many, many bull tahr lying dead, completely wasted. The breeding nanny population will also have taken another huge hit both in and outside the National Parks, putting the future of the herd as a viable hunting resource in jeopardy. The population in Aoraki Mt Cook National Park in particular will be well on the way to eradication.

It is no coincidence that this eradication campaign against the tahr herd commenced with the arrival of the current Minister of Conservation using the vehicle of an outdated 27 year old Himalayan thar control plan that should have been reviewed a number of times by now and a 40 year old National Parks Act that does not reflect modern day reality.

It is pretty clear that any government that includes the greens will be bad for hunting. It will likely see a return of the current Minister of Conservation and an escalation of the campaign against our game animals.

At this stage I cannot tell you who to vote for if you want to use your vote strategically. We are lobbying all the parties to see who is going to stand up and support our cause, and who might actually be in a position to make a difference.

National has had two leadership changes within a couple of months and has discounted working with NZ First so this only leaves ACT as a possible partner. Act has said all the right things on firearms, and certainly Nicole McKee is a wonderful addition to their line-up. But with National polling so poorly is a centre right government a realistic option?

Unless labour wins enough seats to govern on their own, they will need a partner(s) with the Greens being most likely first cab off the rank. As we said above a Labour/Greens only government will be bad for hunting so we need NZ First in that mix to in some way temper the effects of having the Greens in government. Winnie love him or hate him, but NZ First are the only ones who have actually made a difference to things like the firearms legislation after doing some very good work behind the scenes. Remember as they are actually in government, they cannot grandstand and postulate in the media like the opposition can, and there’s no denying that they have moderated the extremes of the Greens on several occasions. Inside government they have managed to get the independent firearms authority across the line, and pulled back a lot of the silly stuff in the second tranche, (the alternative without NZ First’s input would have been a disaster). They managed to get farmers back their pest control firearms, but failed to get the 3 gun shooters their competitive semi autos back. However if they don’t make the 5% threshold or Shane Jones does not win Northland, then it all may all count for nought.

As they say 24 hours is a long time in politics and anything can happen between now and election day. We will be reading the tea leaves closer to the time and will communicate our thoughts via social media to try and help you with this most important decision. Another three years of the current Minister of Conservation and the Green eco-fundamentalist ideology does not bear thinking about!

The Spot the Logo winners for last issue are Scott Chapman and Astoria Delany. The logos were on page 19 in the Bushnell advert and on page 96 in the Cavalier Green Ginger Wine advert.

By the time I will be writing my next editorial, we’ll have a new Government, so here’s hoping it’s better for hunters than the current one!