Thread: Game Animal Council (GAC) to be scrapped by Conservation Minister?

Originally Posted by Woody

I understand the concerns being voiced here. However, if Fish & Game were to take on management of game animals I don't see that this would create unaffordable costs for hunters. The cost of a trout or game bird licence is not exorbitant and if a similar cost was placed on game animals it would be a tiny price to pay in return for protected management and formal recognition of those game animals on public land. Without that formal recognition the future will only lead to high cost and exclusive private ownership of game animals; in fact a hell of a lot higher than a F&G licence. The alternative is what we are witnessing now from DoC and it bodes ill for the future of public land game animal hunting.

Well said Woody. Can I add the following : I have been a F&G Councillor and that organisation is NOT the one to lead big game hunting, however it is a model that works to protect an introduced species group for recreational use. That protection is enshrined in law. I doubt that game fish would have been granted protection under the conservation act if the acclimatization societies were not in existence and collecting licence fees at the time the Act was written.
We have a Game Animal Council with statutory recognition that is at risk of being dissolved. That organisation is underfunded and because of that underfunding is of limited effectiveness.
The GAC is the only organisation representing hunters with statutory recognition and therefore it is the organisation that we must get behind. Certainly we can start an online petition to keep it.
If we look into our Crystal ball of Hunting what do we see ? I see an increasing population in NZ and around the world, putting more pressure on our wild places with not only hunting but more and more bush walking tourists coming. I see a stronger and stronger green movement following on from awareness about polluted rivers, the current plastic bag campaign and the Global Warming news we see all the time. Are we likely to be looked after if we carry on with the status quo ??
Back to GAC, if right now we had 150,000 firearms owners paying a sub (licence) to GAC, would the Minister consider shutting them down ?? Everything we do in life is a form of politics, negotiations at work, with the missus etc etc. So in my opinion we need to use our collective political skills and wisdom and work out a way to counter the Ministers move against GAC. If I were the minister I would cut GAC's budget to an unsustainable level and hamstring them that way, then after twelve months shut them down.