Safety priority for hunters this game bird season

As duck hunters prepare for the delayed opening of game bird season, the Firearm Safety Council Aotearoa New Zealand is urging them to focus on safety.

The duck hunting season is opening three weeks late this Saturday, after the country moved out of level 3 restrictions imposed to fight Covid-19.

“Safety with shotguns should be a priority for all duck hunters this season,” Firearm Safety Council spokesman Bill O’Leary says. “Unfortunately, each year there are incidents resulting in shotgun injuries, ranging from minor to serious and tragically, even death.

“This need not happen — this year we want a safe and incident-free game bird season,” he says.

The Firearm Safety Council says to achieve a blemish-free hunting season, duck hunters should make sure they follow all seven rules of the arms code.

Bill O’Leary advises them to focus on two in particular.

“The key rules are one and five — treat every firearm as loaded, and check your firing zone. Failure to do this are the two major causes of duck hunting incidents,” says Bill.