Taranaki > Hunting

The Taranaki Region has many rivers, streams, creeks and ponds that provide good habitat for waterfowl. This translates into consistently good shooting and Taranaki hunters are among the most successful in the North Island.

Mallard duck is the predominant game species, accounting for around 60% of all waterfowl harvested. Mallard numbers declined in the 1998-2001 period in response to the dry La Nina weather pattern, but a return to El Nino conditions and a good spring breeding season in 2002 will mean more Mallards for the gun in 2003. Last year's reduced "rest of season" bag limit has therefore been dispensed with and a daily limit of 10 Mallard and Grey duck combined applies throughout the Taranaki region for the whole of the 2003 game season.

Paradise shelduck are widespread throughout the region and they make up about 30% of the waterfowl harvest. Paradise bag limits and season lengths in the Waimarino district near Mt Ruapehu have been reduced to come into line with the rest of the region and all areas now have a 10-bird daily bag limit and an 8-week season for Paradise shelduck.

Pukeko are also widespread through the region and farmers will generally welcome a harvest of Pukeko from wetlands adjacent to maize growing or other cropping areas. Two populations of Canada geese provide additional hunting opportunities in the North Taranaki and Waimarino areas. Black swan can be harvested from the second weekend of the season, though a restrictive bag limit applies (1 swan per hunter per day).

While there are few public hunting areas in the Taranaki region, there are plenty of places to hunt waterfowl on private land - it’s simply a matter of asking landholders for access. Once a hunter establishes a record of responsible behaviour, there is usually no problem obtaining permission to hunt in subsequent seasons.

The Bear Chronicles

Taranaki Fish and Game Councillor Murray Stephenson has kindly agreed to share with us his training methods, tips and tricks as he trains Bear, his black Labrador pup, to become a working gundog . In a series of ad hoc articles Murray and Bear will document and photograph all the trials and tribulations of turning a playful, mischievous pup into a disciplined gundog capable of working both duck and upland game.

Murray is not a professional dog trainer, nor does he profess to be. He acknowledges that there are many ways and methods for training gundogs, those he will use with Bear may not be suitable for all dogs or all breeds of dogs. For those who are having trouble training their dogs he is happy to offer advice and encouragement and hopes through these article to pass on some of the knowledge he has acquired over the years. If any owner is in doubt about how to deal with a particular behaviour problem Murray encourages them to get in touch or seek professional help. Murray bases his training techniques on over 45 years experience with gundogs and in gundog training and over 20 years professional experience working with dogs.

Will Bear cut the mustard and become a working gundog or is he cut out to be just another bowl licking, scrap munching, heat seeking waste disposal unit?

To track his progress, follow the links below

Part 1 - introduction

Part 2 - training and familiarisation begins

Part 3 - multiple retrieves, stop whistle and direction signals.

Part 4 - introduction to water work

Part 5 - introduction to firearms

Part 6 - Advanced retriever training

Part 7 - the Final Bear Chronicle