Say no to Heli hunting in NZ
DOC (the New Zealand Department of Conservation) is going to make guided helicopter hunting a legal activity on public land (i.e. paying clients can shoot trophy animals from a helicopter; or use helicopters as a means to spot and drop a hunter; and use the helicopter to muster and tire animals towards the client) under the already controversial wild animal recovery operations (WARO) permits.
Legalising this activity under the already existing WARO framework will allow heli-hunting to take place in our prestine National Parks, Conservation Parks, Forest Parks, Wilderness Areas, and general public areas that are deemed public land. DoC are pushing for this activity to be granted approval as of February 1st 2010. These private heli-hunting operators, unless we stand up for our rights, must not be allowed to do this, otherwise the minority will affect it for the majority and this simply isnt right.
The writing is already on the wall with several operators already granted interim heli hunting permits to carry out this heli-hunting activity on public land, with DoC pushing for the activity to be approved in the next few weeks!
The petition (link below) may achieve nothing, but at least in 5 years time when our public land tahr, chamois, red deer, and unique whitetail herds have considerably reduced trophy quality, and our pristine and peaceful backcountry is jammed full of noisey helicopters that affect everyones amenity values; you will be able to say I tried to stop this! Lets not let the minority ruin it for the majority!!!
Please take 1 minute of your time click on the link below and sign this petition, it is simple and easy.
Click on the link below
You can add further comments to the petition if you wish - its important to express your views on this outragous matter.
Be sure to highlight that heli-hunting should NOT be allowed to take place in NZ for the following reasons. It is:
i) Unsafe
ii) Unethical
iii) Under-regulated
iv) Inconsiderate of other peoples amenity values
v) Greedy
vi) A poor display of game management or population control of a public resource
vii) Unjust and unfair to other recreational user groups
viii) Detrimentle to New Zealands clean, green image
ix) Detrimentle to New Zealands outdoor / back packing tourism industry
x) Extremely poorly planned interms of the future implications
xi) Needed to be made a publicly notified activity and involve consultation from various stakeholders in the decision process
xii) Illegal in other OECD countries including America where the majority of heli-hunting clients come from
xiii) Condoning poor sportsmanship towards wild animals throughout New Zealand
xiv) Detrimental to the aesthetic values sought by those who venture into the mountains for tranquillity and solitude to experience a true nature/ wilderness experience.
Please forward this link to everyone on your mailing list. This petition went up on Monday April 28th and it has grown to over 2500 signatories; illustrating the opposition and passion that recreational users have towards preventing this sort of activity from taking place on public land administered by DOC.
Please do your bit to help snowball this issue - forward this link to other like minded people, email ministers and DoC conservancies..
This really is a critical issue - and should involve more than just hunters alone. Every public land user has a stake in this issue, and I can promise you this, heli-hunting WILL affect your outdoor experience if its condoned whether you are a mountaineer, kayaker, tramper, nature lover, climber, photographer, poet, painter, philosopher, philantropist..or what ever!! If you venture into the back country, this will signifcantly diminish your recreational experience...
Stop Heli-hunting clip
Interesting International debate regarding heli-hunting
Tahr Clip1 & Clip2 are of how helicopters can significantly effect your experience on our public lands. While I realise that tahr culling is a legitimate activity (and quite different from heli-hunting), it's quite clear what impact helicopters in general can have on the aesthetics of a wilderness or nature-based experience. So the take home message is, don't let this become the norm with heli-hunting!!
Tahr clip 1
Tahr clip 2
Below is another clip of how helicopters (in this case used for wild animal recovery operations WARO) can significantly impact recreational users outdoor experience! This scoundral was allegidly poaching in the Lake Sumner
Recreational Hunting Area - an area that is excluded from any WARO or heli-hunting concessions. This operator is currently under investigation and it once again illustrates the visual and audial impact that helicopters have to our outdoor experiences on public land. Don't let this become the norm with heli-hunting.
This last clip makes me sick - this is a full video of heli-hunting in action. This is exactly what heli-hunting will impose on our public lands and wild game within. Can you imagine how often your outdoor experience will be affected by this activity if it is allowed to go ahead. Regardless of the conditions that DoC proposes for this activity, history has shown to us that (some) helicopter operators will still break the rules and fly into areas they're not supposed - again, potentially affecting public users that want a remote wilderness experience.
And as for this video Clip, this will also make you sick. Shane Quinn Alpine Hunting condones heli-hunting, and if you watch PART TWO of the video you will see the total utter chaos of what heli-hunting creates. Shame on DoC for promoting this activity and shame on the businesses that exploit it. Dangerous, unethical and total utter disregard for other public land users are merely a few things that come to mind.
CLICK HERE to read a very recent article about heli-hunting
Click here (News Article) to read an old report outlining some of the concerns with heli-hunting on NZ public land
Join the anti heli-hunting facebook group CLICK HERE
Click here (The Kiwi Opinion) to read more about the history and implications of heli-hunting
Click here to view an American forum (24hourcampfire) on heli-hunting
And click here to see our own kiwi views against heli-hunting from the FishnHunt forum
Did you know
DoC are planning to allow heli-hunting in the Mt Cook National Park by amending the Mt Cook National Park Management Plan.
According to section 4.3.3(c) of the current Mt Cook National Park Mgmt Plan, "No approval should be given that would increase aircraft activity or aircraft noise within the Park". What are DOC thinking this activity will do????
It will increase noise pollution, affect a wide range of users of the Park (photographers, climbers, trampers, campers, general tourists, hunters, fishermen, mountaineers... ) the list goes on. The number of people that stand to be affected in someway by this unethical and imposing activity are far outweighed by the small monetary benefits of allowing this highly dangerous business activity to take place on our public lands.
What can you do about it?
Read this LINK and provide direct feedback (to [email protected]) over why you feel heli-hunting should NOT take place in the Mt Cook National Park and how it will affect your recreational experience. Be sure to reference section 4.3.3(c) of the current Mt Cook National Park Mgmt Plan (as above).
Make your general views or submissions against heli-hunting known before February 5th 2010 by emailing [email protected] or providing direct feedback through this FEEDBACK FORM
Alternatively, formal letters can be directed to:
Mike Cuddihy
Conservator, Canterbury Conservancy
Private Bag 4715
Christchurch
Also, ask to be included in the heli-hunting framework process, and in particular, ask for a copy of the "proposed mapping for helihunting discussion" - made available only in December 2009. Check out this INFORMATION LINK for more info.
The more we can jump on board this issue, the better. We simply can't afford to let this go ahead in it's proposed framework. If granted the go ahead, heli-hunting will be allowed for the next 5 years.
Comments
For those that are interested, a Facebook group has been started to rally opposition and to share information: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=443279960007
I guess another point I wanted to stress is that, regulatory bodies have restricted flight paths, number of helicopter landing zones etc in certain public areas for many years (as outlined in DoC's conservation / wilderness / national park / management plans etc) for reasons to do with conservation, noise control, maintaining aesthetic / amenity values of the outdoors etc etc...
And yet those same regulatory bodies are quite willing to allow for WARO across large areas and now propose to legalise heli-hunting - which is almost a 180 turn from those principles outlined above. How can they not see that allowing for what will almost be constant aerial pressure throughout the year from WARO and heli-hunting (across broad areas of public land) will have a big impact on a wide range of outdoor users?
http://www.alpinehunting.com/information/shane-quinn-alpine-hunting-i-62.html
Watch Part Two.
Do as Jamie suggests, everyone - go to that FEEDBACK FORM and tell them what you think
cheers
I'm sixteen years old and a keen hunter myself. i love what you're doing here and im glad someone's making a stand mate. It is truly unethical and cruel to these animals. back in the day when deer and thar etc were plentiful, i can understand to a point the use of helicopters to control numbers. However, in this day and age we simply do not have the numbers of deer etc in the wild to warrent using heli hunting. It is cruel, unfair and unethical to do so. If a sixteen year old can figure this one out on his own, why can the department of "conservation" see that nz wild game is a precious resource that needs to be managed properly for generations to come.
By the way, i love reading your articles in the NZ Hunter magazine and would love to come on a hunt with you one day:-)
p.s. I have decided to do my persuasive speech for school this year on why heli hunting needs to be stopped. Anything i can do to stop this from happening i will!
Kind regards Matt.
photos, videos would help thanks and of your personel hunts THANKS
keep up the good hunting articals NZ hunter
Been out hunting for the last week hence delay - but it seems like some people got carried away (and waaay off topic). Jack, I'd be delighted to give you a hand mate, my email address is [email protected] flick me an email with some specific things you want a hand with, and I'll be in touch.
For those interested in the recent hunt, my brother Barrack shot a 12" bull tahr, an 8.5" chamois and a 10p red stag for his first time hunting in the South Island, so was quite chuffed with our week back in the promised land.
Will add details later. Standby
Flying out to Perth in an hour.
Please keep your irrational comments to yourself - and when I get a chance, I will delete the trash talk
Cheers
Jamie
I am a teacher at the Westmount Waitaki Campus here at Enfield in Oamaru. One of my y 12 students is interested in all aspects of heli hunting. He needs info for an oral presentation.
The school address is: Wellington street, RD2-C, Oamaru, 9491. Phone number is 03-432-4119.
Any Information would be most appreciated.
Thanks
Ronelle Eden
hunt only if u must to feed yourself and in this day an age it's not necessary. go veg or let the poor animals leave in the beauty of the mountains. one would think mountain man would love nature and all it's beauty not the game or the dead remains on display! pathetic!
i hope in your next life you'de be the innocent animal that gets hunted!
Thanks for your views on the matter of hunting. I dont expect all persons to understand the many and various reasons for why I choose to hunt, but I cant see the problem in providing meat (as a food source) to alleviate some of the costs of buying meat from supermarkets. And in doing so, enjoying the challenges that come with that endeavour.
My choice to hunt for both meat and sporting purposes doesnt feed an agricultural industry driven by intensive production - not that I have anything against this. But my point is, I take great pride knowing where my meat comes from and how it was obtained, and I would encourage more people in society these days to venture out and gain a better appreciation of our outdoor setting through harvesting their own foods whether it be through fishing, diving or hunting. Earn your keep basically.
Living off the land is part and parcel of my lifestyle choice and I thoroughly look forward to bringing my children up in a similar setting.
And lastly, my choice to hunt in NZ fits within a conservation paradigm. So from my perspective, hunters are doing our country a great service (free of charge), and one could even argue that we are alleviating demand for meats such as venison and pork from supermarkets as we simply go out and obtain for ourselves.
Have written a response, I just need your correct email addy to send it to...
Thanks.
I'm 17 years old and I love hunting, yet with regard to heli hunting I have a mixed viewpoint.,
I think heli hunting for overseas hunters paying big bucks to shoot quality animals from a helicopter is a completely unethical business, but with regard to the aerial culling of deer tahr etc I think that it is necessary in some places.
For a rich tourist to pay money to shoot quality animals from a chopper with a shotgun or a rifle, (often having to fire multiple times to finish off a wounded animal) is just utter shit.
It should not happen. It's an insult to the animal which, if its going to be shot deserves to be killed cleanly and with respect, not for some wealthy tourist to blaze away at it with no regard for the animal and its suffering.
We as recreational hunters put in the hard work to get up to where the animals are living and for a helicopter to come in right under your nose and shoot them when you have put in the effort to get to a good spot is a crap feeling.
It happened to my Dad and I last November in a place near Te Anau. We had put in the effort to get to a favourite spot of ours, but the weather was shit and looking to clear up later on that weekend. We got up bright and early on the Sunday( the day things were supposed to get better) and headed off on the clearing to scout for a deer when a chopper comes in, fires three shots and the shooter even gives us a cheeky wave as the chopper turns to pick up their deer.
The chopper put down about 250 metres from us and we ran flat out to try and intercept the bastard before he took off,and just as we werent more than 80 or so metres away he took off with his three deer underneath. We were not impressed.
So my dad figured out who the pilot was, and ended up having a word to him over the phone about it. The guy even had the cheek to say to him "Aww did ya not see the other four deer out there?"
Of course we didnt, he'd already gone and ruined it.
But i'll give the pilot some credit as he apologised for ruining things for us.
And in the Te Anau area the local operators have a unwritten moratorium against shooting in the roar period, but when I stayed at that same spot for the duration of last week we had no less than 5 different choppers buzzing the valley and tops over a three day period.
There needs to be a system where the WARO operators can be told if there are ground hunters in a certain area so they can stay away from it. It would really help .
Thanks for the rant
MJS
Choppers should be for transportation to huts only ,not hunting,if these clients are to old to hunt properly then their time has come to stay out of the hills and let younger hunters have their go at a trophy and or meat.
Im 43 and will one day have to hang up my Sako i know, but my son will hopefully carry on and get himself a trophy and meat and i will enjoy knowing he can have an even chance at it as long as the choppers don't ruin it for him.
Say no to chopper hunting.
Thanks Jamie, for keeping up with the play on this.
Adam
There are a lot of people that stand to lose out from this and we are already starting to hear stories about it...
i am hopeing that some good things will come out of the DOC helihunting thing. this will be in the form that it may be more selective than blanket 1080ing and reduce WARO opperations as operators want to keep stocks of animals for clients, they may well be not as keen to cover the areas in 1080 for the same reason, they wont want to crap in their whirlybird nests. Also that the animals evolve as the capture and meat hunting days showed, with the animals making a speedy departure the moment they hear a chopper in the distance, and on many occasions i have seen this with tahr hiding under overhangs, scrub and caves.
I urge all hunters to use helicopter operators as well, my thinking on this subject is that enough of us get off our asses and do some trips that use helicopter time, they may not have time to go bloody helihunting.
We are so privileged to have such a hunting and fishing paradise in New Zealand. But why does the best interests of the majority count for nothing???
I am greatly disturbed with all the cowardly unethical heli hunting and disgraceful 1080 drops ruining it for all the recreational hunters. I don't have any admiration for the WARO operations either. I have seen and reported the helicopters hammer the chopper free zones in the lower Ruahines, that are meant as a reserve for the likes of us who hunt from foot. But DOC probably don't care about that.
Hopefully this new game council will shake things up and bring public awareness to the misconduct procedures of pest control and hunting operations from air.
Have a look back as far as September 14 2010 on their blog where they won an Irish film festival award, UK film festival award for their 1080 doco.
One day we'll look back on this and have the Graf boys to thank for all their hard work in finding alternative, greener solutions to managing possums in NZ
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