SAFE SETIING: Warnings for a safe roar including making sure the target is identified and the firearm is loaded only when ready to use. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
SAFE SETIING: Warnings for a safe roar including making sure the target is identified and the firearm is loaded only when ready to use. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
A classic combination of the timing of hunting's ''roar'', Easter Weekend and expected near-perfect weather for hunting in the Central North Island mountain ranges has placed hunters on danger watch as they head for the hills during the next few days.
Easter Sunday last fell on April 1 in 1956,and with the last days of March and first days of April and Easter weekends figuring prominently in deerstalking mishaps over the years and with both coinciding this year, large numbers are expected be on the hunt in such areas as the Kaweka, Ruahine and Tararua ranges, and Te Urewera.
The warning was loudest from Firearms Safety Council chairman and Kapiti Coast hunter Joe Green, who says the numbers of incidents in which hunters have shot fellow hunters, including their own mates, highlights the need for utmost precaution, including clearly identifying the target before firing.
About half the deer-hunting shootings in recent years have involved hunters shooting their own hunting companions and Mr Green said: ''If you're hunting with a mate and you become separated, stop hunting until you know where your mate is.''
In the 10 years from 2007 to 2016, 41 people were killed in hunting mishaps in New Zealand, 22 of them involving firearms. They included the March 31, 2016, Ruahine Range shooting of soldier Daniel Jordan by another hunter, later reported to have himself been concerned about the number of hunters in the area.
With the Central North Island two to three weeks into a roar which lasts five to six weeks, the Department of Conservation is also concerned about the dangers. During the period, the males ''roar'' to warn off rival stags, making it a good time to hunt.
DoC Hawke's Bay acting operations manager Moana Smith-Dunlop said getting permits was an essential part of hunters' preparations for the weekend.
A hunting permit has information about local hunting safety restrictions and can be obtained from the DOC website or local DOC.
She said the roar was the busiest time of year in the back country and hunters should be aware at all times of other people using the bush.
DoC warns hunters not to go hunting in the dark or to indulge in ''spotlighting'', which is not permitted on public conservation land. It also urges hunters to take the extra time to identify their target.
*For more information, visit the DOC website: doc.govt.nz/hunting.
