Thread: Pest Controllers Endorsement

Originally Posted by Johnny Booger

Hi everybody,

First post here, so I hope I have got this in the right place etc.

Just wondering if anyone has experience getting the pest controllers endorsement as a farmer? I have got a real problem with pigs here currently. There has never been any in the 40 years my family has farmed here, but a couple years ago some showed up (my neighbour released them I have been told) and the population is growing very quickly. Currently I have a Howa SA in .223 with some detachable magazines, but ultimately the reload/re-acquire target is too slow and I can get a few at a time, the rest disappear back into the timber. I'm lucky if I can come across them every 3 months or so, even with going out a couple evenings per week, so you can see how the ones escaping are multiplying faster than I can get down on them. They do huge amounts of damage to the pasture in the wetter months, at this time of year they mostly tear up all the wetlands we have fenced off/planted. There is now enough of them that they are running in multiple groups of a dozen or so, plus piglets, as seen spotlighting a couple weeks back.

I have spoken to the local arms officer, he said to his knowledge they are only giving this endorsement to professional pest controllers (even though NZ Police website says it's available for 'owners/managers of agricultural businesses'. The main problem I can see on the application form is that I need to have 3 referees, one of whom held an E-Cat when that was a thing. I don't know such a person, let alone one who also knows me well enough to be my referee. Seems like this is one of those things that's 'available', but isn't actually available.

I would appreciate any advice, even if it's that I'm wasting my time trying to go down this track.

Thanks!

Mate feel free to send me a PM if you like, we just cleaned up a pine block in the Waikato and I can probably get the owner or the manager to give us a reference. We just shoot everything dead, none of this business of leaving some for next time etc and no dogs, we bring a few shooters for a few times and shoot everything that we can find. We use nigh vision and some other means

Ill be keen to have a look at the issue and see if this is something we can deal with or not.
No cost to you, we keep the meat

Cheers
F