Inaugural Game Animal Council appointed   17 Apr 2014

Nick Smith, Peter Dunne

17 APRIL, 2014

Inaugural Game Animal Council appointed

Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith and Associate Minister Peter Dunne today announced the appointment of 11 members to the inaugural Game Animal Council.

“The new Game Animal Council is about giving hunters of deer, tahr, chamois and pigs an active voice in the management of their recreation. These appointments include a diverse range of interests in hunting and a geographic spread across the country,” Dr Smith says.

The 11 members are:

• Donald Hammond (chair)

• Thomas (Mark) Brough

• Roger Duxfield

• Professor Geoffrey Kerr

• Steven McFall

• Alexander (Alec) McIver

• William O’Leary

• Garry Ottmann

• Terence Pierson

• Roy Sloan

• Carol Watson

• “This new Council reflects National’s view, strongly encouraged by UnitedFuture, that the Department of Conservation needs to be more engaged with the recreational sector and involve them in the decision-making process. We want to encourage and support New Zealanders enjoying our great outdoors,” Dr Smith says.

“The establishment of the Game Animal Council and the appointment of its members today is an important step forward for the hunting sector in New Zealand. The Council will bring a new system of self-management to the sector and acknowledges the important role that hunting plays both recreationally and economically in New Zealand,” Mr Dunne says.

“It also ensures that hunting in New Zealand is secured for generations to come.”

“The establishment of the Game Animal Council is part of National’s Confidence and Supply Agreement with UnitedFuture, and it illustrates National’s ‘blue-green’ approach of getting sector groups like recreational and commercial hunters around the table to resolve competing interests,” Dr Smith says.

“One of the first tasks for the council will be developing an industry-led code of practice for controversial aerially-assisted trophy hunting methods such as shooting from the helicopter and herding and hazing.”

Other key functions of the Council include advising and making recommendations to the Minister of Conservation on hunting issues, providing information and education to the sector, promoting safety initiatives, conducting game animal research, and undertaking management functions for designated herds of special interest.

Add a comment