Hello fellow stalkers
I thought I would join this forum as I am an expat living in New Zealand (sorry if I've upset any Aussies with the 'nice part' comment. Only kidding!).
I hail from the Staffordshire Moorlands, but emigrated to New Zealand in 1990. I live in the South Island, which is similar in size to England and Wales, but only has a population of 1,000,000. I used to be an active member of the British Deer Society. I now belong to the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association.
Deer in New Zealand are generally considered as a pest (by those who don't stalk), and can be shot all year around. The Department of Conservation actually drops 1080 poison to reduce their numbers. If deer numbers get so high that they need to be poisoned, it is because not enough people are shooting them I suppose. Deer are shot from helicopters by commercial hunters, who recover and sell the meat for domestic and overseas consumption.
Fortunately, we have millions of acres of public land that can be shot over by anyone who applies for a free permit (these are issued for statistical purposes), that contain deer, feral pigs, feral goats, tahr, chamois, and even wild cattle in some areas. Having so much land, and such a small population means that there is plenty of room for everyone.
My main calibre of choice is the venerable .308win which 'does the job nicely', though I am setting up a night vision rig built around a single shot suppressed Harrington & Richardson .44mag. I do quite a bit of night hunting (not allowed on public land due to some terrible accidents), but perfectly acceptable on private land.
I also live about 5 mins from a river that gets runs of seatrout. Rivers are open access to the public, so salmon, trout, and seatrout can be fished for with a single fishing license, which only costs around 60 pound per year.
It's a great place if you enjoy outdoor activities, but bloody hard work trying to earn a living here. Can't have everything I suppose.
I won't bore you any further, just thought I'd say hello
Ant
I thought I would join this forum as I am an expat living in New Zealand (sorry if I've upset any Aussies with the 'nice part' comment. Only kidding!).
I hail from the Staffordshire Moorlands, but emigrated to New Zealand in 1990. I live in the South Island, which is similar in size to England and Wales, but only has a population of 1,000,000. I used to be an active member of the British Deer Society. I now belong to the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association.
Deer in New Zealand are generally considered as a pest (by those who don't stalk), and can be shot all year around. The Department of Conservation actually drops 1080 poison to reduce their numbers. If deer numbers get so high that they need to be poisoned, it is because not enough people are shooting them I suppose. Deer are shot from helicopters by commercial hunters, who recover and sell the meat for domestic and overseas consumption.
Fortunately, we have millions of acres of public land that can be shot over by anyone who applies for a free permit (these are issued for statistical purposes), that contain deer, feral pigs, feral goats, tahr, chamois, and even wild cattle in some areas. Having so much land, and such a small population means that there is plenty of room for everyone.
My main calibre of choice is the venerable .308win which 'does the job nicely', though I am setting up a night vision rig built around a single shot suppressed Harrington & Richardson .44mag. I do quite a bit of night hunting (not allowed on public land due to some terrible accidents), but perfectly acceptable on private land.
I also live about 5 mins from a river that gets runs of seatrout. Rivers are open access to the public, so salmon, trout, and seatrout can be fished for with a single fishing license, which only costs around 60 pound per year.
It's a great place if you enjoy outdoor activities, but bloody hard work trying to earn a living here. Can't have everything I suppose.
I won't bore you any further, just thought I'd say hello
Ant
Last edited:
