Hunter dies after shot to chest in Kaimai Range

A person was shot and killed while hunting in the forest near Te Aroha.

Police received a call about a hunter with a gunshot wound to the chest in the forest near Wairakau Rd, at 10.15am yesterday, a police spokeswoman said.

‘‘Medical staff reached the man by helicopter but sadly he died at the scene.’’

Police will be conducting inquiries on behalf of the coroner.

Earlier, a police spokeswoman said there was at least one other person with the hunter and that person made the call to emergency services.

The Mountain Safety Council is working with police to better understand the events leading up to the incident.

Pig and deer tend to be the game species hunters go for in the Kamai Range, a Mountain Safety Council spokesperson said.

Weather is unlikely to have played a part in the incident, the spokesperson said.

‘‘It’s highly likely a firearms safety rule hasn’t been followed. But we can’t be sure what’s precipitated this event yet.’’

The majority of firearm-related hunting incidents can be traced to a safety rule not being followed, Mountain Safety Council chief executive Mike Daisley said.

It’s critical hunters follow these rules in order to reduce incident numbers, he said.

‘‘There is a general perception that the misidentified target incidents are across a valley, several hundred metres away, when in actuality they aren’t.

‘‘A small percentage, 7.5 per cent, are greater than 75m, and a staggering 92 per cent are less than 75m.’’

More than 55 per cent of all big game-hunting fatalities occur in March and April, Daisley said.

He urged all hunters to follow the Firearms Safety Code.