Duck finally on the menu for hunters
Ducks may have been giving a lifeline of a few extra weeks, but eager hunters are expected to be out in force early today as duck shooting season gets under way.
The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the season, which was to originally start on May 2.
However, shooters might have an ace to play with reports there would be more ducks about this year compared to the past decade.
Southland Fish & Game manager Zane Moss said the wet spring had helped during breeding season and a survey conducted showed there were more ducks this year than the past 10 years.
About 6000 Southlanders were expected to take part in duck shooting and many people were relieved the season was going ahead, Moss said.
Hunting and Fishing Invercargill co-owner Gerald MacRae said while prep time for the season had been cut short because of lockdown, which included feeding ponds and setting up decoys, it had also added to the excitement. ‘‘Everyone is rapt [about the season opening] and can’t wait to get into it.’’
Paddock decoys had been hot sellers at the store.
MacRae said the region would benefit economically from duck shooting, from duck hunters’ wives heading out to dinner, to the money spent on accommodation and fuel.
Many people came to the region to take part in duck shooting and a lot of businesses in Southland benefited from the sport, he said.
Federated Farmers urged duck shooters to take extra care saying with 40,000 hunters participating throughout the country, it is also the weekend when most game bird hunting accidents happened.
Federated Farmers firearms spokesman Miles Anderson said more than 40 per cent of duck shooting accidents occurred opening weekend. ‘‘Many hunters won’t have had a chance to shoot a round of clays this season, and with all the focus on Covid-19 management it is easy to forget about basic firearms handling safety.’’
Moss reminded hunters to make sure they had a duck hunting licence as not having one could have significant ramifications for firearm holders. The organisation and the New Zealand Police would be undertaking compliance checks, he said.
‘‘. . . with all the focus on Covid-19 management it is easy to forget about basic firearms handling safety.’’ Miles Anderson Federated Farmers firearms spokesman