Thread: NZFS ammunition article by Lynn Harris

Originally Posted by Woody

Actually I think the line below which populations cannot readily recover is 30% residual. 10% residual is very drastic. That 30% assumes an approximate 4-7 year population recovery assuming no further culling so for sustained herd management a 30% residual population to start a sustained management herd would be a reasonable start point depending of course on a known ecological balance. E.g. The Lake Monk study.
Filing the tips of 303 ball ammo worked very well. Ground based culling from strategically located huts and fly camps was pretty effective and allowed semi-permanant pressure on the animals in many areas. If better and cheaper hunter access was invested in today I think the knockdown achieved by heli operators uears ago could have been capitalised upon and the current situation of exploding numbers avoided.

the technology available to hunters today are leaps n bounds ahead too.... a thar at 600 yards would have laughed at you 50 years ago...
thermals were not even heard of....
yeah spotlighting on DOC land has always been illegal..... but thats sort of counterproductive too,especially for possums... the stupid no drop off in areas without permits is also dumb other than in areas of special interest,reading newer permit conditions its getting tougher and tougher not easier. dumb