Hyped-up hunters make hills dangerous
THE shooting of a young hunter in Wairarapa is a sad inevitability when hyped-up office workers who have been ‘‘waiting for 12 months to shoot something’’ finally get their hands on a gun, an experienced hunter says.
The body of a hunter in his late 20s was removed from remote bush by police teams yesterday. He had been shot dead in Aorangi Forest Park, near Pirinoa, on Saturday afternoon.
It is understood the victim and shooter were from different hunting parties. Police say criminal charges are likely.
Wairarapa man Dave Stuart, 76, has hunted for more than 50 years but refuses to go into the Aorangi park during deer breeding season because it is too dangerous.
‘‘It’s the excitement of the hunt, you get people who have been cooped up in an office all year and just can’t wait to get a gun in their hands.’’
The dead man’s 59-year-old companion rang police just after 2pm saying he believed his hunting mate had been shot dead.
It is understood the pair lost radio contact. The older man went to look for his companion and found him fatally wounded.
Four members of another hunting party in the area have been questioned by police.
Detective Senior Sergeant Sean Hansen said police were ‘‘now confident we understand the circumstances surrounding this man’s death’’, but refused to comment further yesterday.
Mr Stuart said that this time of the year – the breeding season, also known as ‘‘the roar’’ – was the most popular time for hunting. Stags call loudly to attract the attention of mates and protect their territory.
Inexperienced hunters who had been ‘‘waiting for 12 months to shoot something’’ were out in droves, and accidents were inevitable.
But shootings such as that of Lower Hutt schoolteacher Rosemary Ives, 25, who was shot dead while cleaning her teeth at a campground near Turangi in 2010, could always be prevented, he said.
Another Wairarapa hunter, Clint Dougan, said it was easy to get a Conservation Department hunting permit and almost anyone without criminal convictions could get a gun licence.
‘‘They are getting their hunting licence and haven’t hunted for two to three years. They are going into the hills all fired up and don’t have any hunting experience.’’
South Wairarapa farmer Wayne Jephson’s sheep and beef farm backs on to Aorangi Forest Park. Hunters often asked permission to go into the hills on his property, but he only ever allowed one hunting party up at a time for safety reasons. ‘‘It is frightening, definitely.’’
Mike Spray, from the Mountain Safety Council, said that with the exception of a Conservation Department hunting permit – only applicable on public land – there was no other register of hunters’ intentions. ‘‘If you go into an area there may or may not be other hunters. It’s pretty hit and miss. There’s always a chance, especially this weekend, of running into another hunting party.’’
But knowing other people were in the area would not improve safety, he said. ‘‘At the end of the day, it’s mates shooting mates in the majority of occasions.’’
Deerstalking Association president Tim Mccarthy said it was imperative for all hunters to identify their target. ‘‘If you see a movement, assume it’s a human – that way you don’t make a mistake, and it sounds like a mistake has been made in this case.
‘‘It is a tragedy, my heart goes out to the people who have lost a son.’’
In the past decade, eight hunters have been shot dead.