Queenstown fishing charter company is aiming to expand into
hunting activities by introducing on-the-boat shooting on
Lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka and Hawea.
Fishing charter company Queenstown Fishing lodged a resource
consent application at the start of June with Lakes
Environmental, applying for a variation to the original
fishing and scenic tours consent for its 6.5m launch.
The consent application proposed five additional activities
which could be carried out from the back of the boat,
including clay target shooting, shooting of wild goats and
red deer while drifting and fishing along the lake shores,
and Canada geese or duck hunting, either from the boat or on
shore.
A range of safety measures are proposed around the
activities, with hunting to take place only in "remote parts
of the lake", with only one person allowed to shoot at any
one time, except for waterfowl, for which the consent applies
for one to two people.
The waterfowl shooting would take place at the "headwaters of
lakes" where numbers are higher.
If approved, deer and goat shooting targets would be clearly
identified, using both the silenced hunting rifle's
high-powered scope, as well as high-powered binoculars to
ensure safety.
When approached by the Otago Daily Times, operator
Trevor Cruickshank did not wish to comment on the proposal
until it had been approved or otherwise.
The goat and deer hunting is conditional on consent of both
private landowners and the Department of Conservation,
depending on where the hunting is proposed.
Other safety considerations in the application included full
firearm safety briefings before any shooting, no chambering
off ammunition before targets have been fully identified, and
appropriate storage of firearms.
- joe.dodgshun@odt.co.nz
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