Clampdown on illegal duck shooting

Duck shooters take aim at their prey during the season. Photo / File

A series of prosecutions for illegal hunting during the duck shooting season in Hawke's Bay is proving mischievous shooters are becoming more likely to be caught and the penalties will be tough, according to Fish and Game New Zealand.

Rotorua-based Eastern Region compliance officer Anthony van Dorp says one of the most serious breaches was at a pond near Wairoa on the season's opening day in May where two men were found with illegal lead shot and over-the-limit shelduck.

Appearing in Napier District Court on September 5, farm worker Jeffrey Short, 45, and builder Michael Karauria, 35, were later ordered to pay fines and cost totalling over $1000 each and had to forfeit their shotguns.

In another case, Paul Hati, 48, appeared in Wairoa District Court in August, with similar penalties for offences which included hunting without a game bird licence and without holding a firearms licence. A judge ordered destruction of his shotgun.

Fish and Game also highlights the appearance of two hunters in Whakatane District Court, one of them sentenced to 100 hours' community work for giving false information - falsely claiming he had a hunting licence.

Mr van Dorp said: "A significant message from this is that if people lie about licences it's treated very seriously by the courts. People who think they can get away lying about their licence find they are caught in the end, and their lies make it all the worse for them."

He said prosecutions illustrated hunters needed to obey all of the rules and he reinforced the need for extensive ranging operations, which were often run jointly with the police.

"We gather information throughout the year, not just during the game bird season, some of it provided anonymously, including reports of people hunting unlawfully out of season," he said. "And the use of tools such as Google Earth means its not hard to know exactly where to find hunters."