It Takes a Hunter to make a Hunter Competition
It Takes a Hunter to Make a Hunter” is a joint Fish & Game NZ and Hunting & Fishing New Zealand programme with the aim of promoting experienced hunters introducing novices to the sport. It is well understood that starting game bird hunting, whether a youngster or adult, can be a daunting task on your own. Most of us recall our own beginnings in the sport, and that invariably involved a family member or mate taking us under their wing and showing us the ropes. Enter here
The big issues for hunters have remained the same for many years; habitat protection, public acceptance of hunting, access, responsible private firearms ownership and hunter management of their own affairs. While all five are important, public acceptance is fundamental to the future of our hunting heritage. We currently enjoy a generally supportive public attitude to hunting, especially outside the main urban centres.
However, the outcome of increasing urbanisation of New Zealand’s population, a cultural drift away from traditional outdoor recreations, a growing ‘political correctness’, and the increasingly sophisticated advocacy and publicity from animal rights groups is eroding public understanding of, and support for, our hunting heritage. This is particularly evident in urban populations.
It is a fact of life that a vocal minority tends to have more sway than a silent majority, and it is important that the silent majority finds a voice. Small things like writing a letter to the editor of the local paper or calling the radio station when you see or hear coverage that is either not right or is something that you want to support make a huge difference. Putting pen to paper or picking up the phone is just as important for maintaining your hunting heritage as pegging your stand.
Linked to this issue is the ‘ammunition’ some hunters can give to animals rights groups by poor hunting practices. Always show respect for your quarry and following the age-old hunter ethic of clearly indentifying your target, making a clean kill, and following up and recovering any wounded game.
Be proud to be hunter, and be keen to explain to non-hunters and the meida what hunting means to you, and the motives and actions of hunters in habitat conservation – which incidentally protect those habitats for all other species that depend on them, including us humans.
All the best for the season.
Bryce Johnson
Wild Game Bird Food Festival
Saturday 3rd to Saturday 31st MAY
 The unique Fish & Game NZ Wild Game Bird Food Festival has brought phrases such as duck prosciutto, whole foie gras, pheasant confit and semiboneless quail into New Zealand’s cuisine vocabulary.
This year the festival will further extend New Zealanders’ taste buds with several new restaurants entering the festival’s exclusive regional lineup - continuing its celebration of wild game birds as a new element of the country’s expanding cuisine and wine reputation.
Each of the 17 restaurants participating - one for each regional city throughout the country – creates a special wild game bird menu, based on several of the game birds on the hunting list and selects wine matches for the different dishes.
The game birds on this year’s hunting list are: Canada Goose, Grey Duck, Mallard Duck, Paradise Shelduck, Californian Quail, Cock Pheasant, Black swan, Chukar and Pukeko. The restaurant may select only one or several of these gamebirds for their 'special menu.'
Hunters bring their bagged wild game birds – dressed to the restaurant’s specifications - to their chosen restaurant a minimum of 24 hours before their dinner booking for the dish selected from its menu.
It is illegal for restaurants to sell wild game birds, but they can charge for the service involved in cooking them, and so each restaurant will take 15% (on average) off the price of each dish for the provision of the wild game bird meat.
At the festival’s conclusion each restaurant offers a dinner prize for two is offered with these drawn by Fish & Game NZ from the game bird licences bought in each region.
The game bird hunting season starts the first weekend of May each year, and this year the festival will run from Sunday 7 May to Sunday 27 May.
The game birds on this year’s hunting list are: Canada Goose, Grey Duck, Mallard Duck, Paradise Shelduck, Californian Quail, Cock Pheasant, Black swan, Chukar and Pukeko. Restaurants and Menus
For the Record: Some information about Canada Geese
Graeme Hughes reviews some facts and myths on the impact of Canada geese on agriculture - read this article
Hunting tip - are Mallards attracted to Parrie decoys?
Useful advice on mixing mallard and paradise shelduck decoys - read this article
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The region is abuzz with anticipation with the word on bird numbers being the hot topic. Opening weekend is right on the doorstep so its time to prepare.
If the frantic activity being experienced by retailers is any sign to go by we should expect to have good bag limits taken this year. Read the full article here
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It is imperative that every shooter make an effort this year to shoot at least 1 goose even if they never have before. The Wildlife Schedules are up for review and we may loose geese off them. This would mean that anyone could kill them at any time of year, by any method, no licence required. Read the full article here
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Monitoring of mallard and grey duck indicates that last spring was another good breeding season; however the current drought has been hard on the birds with many of them in very poor condition. Fish and Game have banded over 20,000 mallard and grey duck in the Eastern and Hawke’s Bay Regions over the last eleven years, yet this year the ducks were some of the thinnest we have yet encountered. Read the full article here
Forest Access Update
Last Minute Preparation
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Preparation for the start of the ever important duck shooting season began in early 2008 with the duck banding programme. The wetland sites that have been used in previous years were once again used this year as they have been reliable in producing good numbers of dabbling ducks. There are three sites; one near Waipukurau, one on Lake Rotokare which is situated North-West of Hastings off Highway 50 and the third is approximately six kilometres south of the Napier-Taupo road. The wide dispersion of these sites ensures we collect a random sample of birds from across the entire Hawkes Bay Fish and Game region. Read the full article here
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With recent rain helping to replenish local wetlands, Taranaki Region hunters are looking forward with anticipation to the opening of the 2008 game season, which starts at 6.30am on Saturday 3rd May. Read the full article here
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Weather that is good for holiday-makers in December and January does not always translate into great weather for ducks. A relatively wet mid-spring in the Wellington region resulted in a good breeding season in 2007 – and we saw good numbers of dabbling duck broods. However, a lack of early to mid summer rainfall will have affected juvenile survival due to reductions in habitat area and food supplies. Read the full article here
Canada Geese - get out there and take the challenge
Go for green
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The Nelson/Marlborough Fish and Game Region is running a “Take A Mate Hunting” promotion this gamebird season. If you hold a 2008/09 adult whole season licence you can take a “mate” (friend, partner, son, daughter, neighbour etc) out for FREE - if they have never held a gamebird licence before. Read the full article here
Wakapuaka Hunters Alert
Game Bird Food Festival Restaurants in Nelson Marlborough
Don't spread Reed Sweet Grass
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Load up on ammo and start getting that dog fit, Fish & Game’s pre season duck counts indicate we are in for a good season.
Paradise Shelducks and Pukeko are counted early in the new year with mallards also noted during the Pukeko counts. In response to the increase in birds observed a special season was notified in March to maximize hunting opportunities. Canada Geese were counted late last year and are also present in the major river valleys in healthy numbers.Read the full article here
Pre-season duck shooters day
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The glorious month of May is almost upon us and although the weather has recently produced low cloud and drizzle, the region remains dry. As a result waterfowl habitats have been reduced and in some places have dried to such an extent they are no longer of interest to ducks. Read the full article here
Filamentous algae and a simple “cure”
Attending to Details
Experienced Hunters acknowledge Steel shot will do the job
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Duck populations throughout most of Otago are looking healthy for the opening of the 2008 waterfowl hunting season on May the 3rd. Lakes Waihola and Waipori are holding large numbers of ducks and swans and the fertile Taieri Plains are generating plenty of food to keep birds in the area. Read the full article here
Early Success Key to getting Juniors Started
Paddock Duckies
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Southland - Don't forget the basics
A number of aspects of duck hunting have changed quite rapidly over the last decade for many hunters. Ten years ago there was no such thing as a robo duck, or mallard machine or spinning wing decoy, or electronic call. In fact, while writing this article I was rung by a keen duck hunter who admitted that a mate has so many electronic gizmos on his pond that he has twelve different batteries to operate everything! This probably gives you some indication of the prevalence of this gear on ponds across the country. Read the full article here
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