Hunting is in my blood - not sure if its the Maori, Portuguese or Scottish genes but the reality is I am happy to kill to eat.
I harvest muttonbirds - its not hunting as you know where they are and for a few weeks they dont move and despite very sharp beaks and feet its not a fair competition - hence the distinction.
We harvest for food or food for barter. Our right to harvest muttonbirds is enshrined in legislation the preserve of the descendants of a few families canny enough to strike a deal with the govt over 100 years ago.
Our father - indeed most of our family have hunted for generations for food to feed their families. The aim is always to do the least damage to the meat to ensure the greatest amount of food for the family.
Head shots make heroes of hunters.
Duck Hunters dont hunt - they harvest - a defined bird population and an unequal competition . This "sport" is not hunting. It is not about food. Otherwise the rules and gun type would be different to reflect the desire to do the least damage to the meat.
Instead shotguns are used. Its about killing the most ducks the quickest way possible. Old and young are slaughtered - again no practices to support the maximum return of meat.
For them its about the killing. Not the hunt and not the food they talk about the kill, the guns and the bullets.
Its not a sport as the deer has no comeback. Those who worship the gun have no respect for the animal they kill.
And as all girls know gun nuts make lousy lovers.
Ground hunters hate them - seeing them as the soulless air assassins who have no love of the hunt - that mythical quest to pit man against beast in an "even contest"
Deer, tahr chamois are all considered pests so plans to manage their numbers is critically important.
Everyone wants to see humane kills and thirdly the recovery of meat and skins for food and because of their value is important.
Heli Hunting has been carried out all over New Zealand and was largely responsible for the huge reduction in numbers of deer in places like Fiordland.
We have heli hunted heaps in Te Anau . Its quick clean and requires the skill of pilots and shooters and done well its superbly efficient.
The problem is the argument is plain silly.
Heli hunting brings in big spenders from the States and Europe. Older men , usually who are not physically fit enough to hunt on the ground.
They will pay huge money for trophy heads. A good pilot will ensure even the worst shot will down his quarry.
So what do they do right?
The animals are killed - reducing the impact on the bush and mountain tundra. More often than not they are killed quickly and cleanly.
And thirdly they bring in a class of tourist who spend up big while they are here.
Thirdly there is no pretense of it being "sport " or an "even contest."
The shooters just want to go home and say they killed a cool animal. And they will pay extraordinary money to do it.
Ground hunters claim the moral high ground. However its a very low sandy bump in a desert of hypocrisy. Ground hunters cannot guarantee to kill an animal quickly and cleanly. And many just kill for the trophies showing no interest in the venison making them no different than helihunters.
They claim that helicopters are noisy and destroy the back country experience.
Funny - its the same noise that a rescue helicopter makes.
They claim that heli hunters " haze " or herd the animals. Maybe they do and if that was such a welfare issue then this heli hunting ban should also include the wild venison recovery industry.
So the argument on "welfare grounds " is invalidated - it should be all or nothing.
I know that if I wanted some venison and I could afford it I would take the chopper any day.
The reality is that this is an issue of envy.
Its about those who cannot afford to charter a chopper to seek out their prey.
I can hear the roar of the jealous from here.
Posts
