The Arms Bill is now open for public submissions until 11.59pm on Monday, February 16, legislation the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) says will restrict how more than 230,000 New Zealanders live and hunt.
"Do not throw away this shot," a COLFO spokesman said, arguing previous opposition to the firearms register failed because fewer than 4% of licence holders made submissions
Clutha farmer Stuart Murray was a Mountain Safety Council firearms licensing instructor for 40 years and remains a figure in local hunting and shooting organisations.
He said firearms owners were concerned the goal of increased expense and complexity across licensing and permit requirements, inconsistent interpretation of rules by authorities across regions and maintenance of the national firearms register were deliberately making lawful ownership harder for responsible, compliant licence holders.
"About 60 pages of documents have been drawn out to about 270 pages. That’s a lot to get through to make a submission," Mr Murray said.
"It’s all set to cost a lot of money for no real benefit apart from making many people’s lifestyle and business gradually becoming more difficult, less accessible, less feasible.
Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager recently highlighted the conservation value of hunters with the removal of more than 33,000 wild goats through a national hunting competition, saying: "This competition exemplifies the power of hunter-led conservation efforts."
The call to engage with the Arms Bill submissions comes alongside Otago Fish & Game’s triennial review of game bird regulations.
