Hunters For Conservation Trustee Don Hammond’s Speech At Our Parlimentry Dinner

Honourable Todd McClay, Minister of Hunting and Fishing), Members of Parliment distinguished guests,

What a great occasion we have here to progress the work of the Hunters for Conservation Trust.

What is the HFC and why does it exist?

The concept came from a Game Animal Council initiative during Conservation week in 2020 as a demonstration of the significant and positive contributions the hunting sector make to conservation.   Hence 'Hunters for Conservation' was born.

Humans have until very recently relied on hunting to survive, whether for food or fibre, and even today many people around the world are still reliant on a level of hunting for their survival.  You may think this is the case for the Innuit (in Canada), or tribes in the Amazon and Africa, but it is also very real here in NZ.  Many, especially in rural communities rely on hunting and fishing for protein for their families.

It is vital we recognise the importance of this.

But there is also another imperative.  From the time humans first arrived on these islands, they have hunted.  Maori hunted and fished extensively, even to the point of following the seasons and  species and sadly in some cases, hunting the species extinction.

European settlement was more recent, but also brough their hunting and fishing culture.  They also brought a couple of other important dynamics.

They cleared land for agriculture with considerable loss of habitat and many extinctions.

They introduced many species from other lands (as did Maori) for a range of reasons including hunting and fishing.

Significantly they brought a desire to escape the class structure of their original homes where only the wealthy and who owned land could hunt or fish.  In this new land that we now all call home, they wanted hunting and fishing to be available to all, and that is how it sits today.

Bringing new species also brought problems and threats, especially to our indigenous flora and fauna but also economic threats to the way we as a country earn our living - from the land and agriculture in particular.

If we just think about deer as an example, they were initially heavily protected, and it was not until the 1930’s when they existed in huge numbers that there was recognition that management of those herds was required.  Unfortunately, we did not have tools other than hunting to try and manage the numbers and the hunting effort was never going to be enough.

We all know the advent of markets for venison in the 1960s changed all that to the point where deer numbers became very low and indeed we even put a moratorium on hunting some species in the 1980’s to try and ensure their survival. (such as sambar)

Fast forward to today and the wild venison market is sporadic, resulting in sporadic commercial hunting pressure at levels that are not enough to protect both our indigenous flora and fauna and the quality of the valued animal herds we have.  Recreational hunters take many more deer than commeceerial hunters, but it is not enough.

Clearly this needs to change if we want to support healthy indigenous ecosystems and healthy herds of valued species and valued fishing resources.

HFC was born from a desire to support those at the coal face in conservation work with the resources they need, whether that is in research programmes, localised conservation programmes like Fiordland Wapiti Foundation and the Sika Foundation (to name a couple), or to support the development of a legislative framework that is fit for purpose.

The current legislation is now well overdue for review.  The Wildlife Act goes back to the 1950s, (70 years ago – before most in this room were born), the Wild Animal Control Act from the 1970s, the National Parks and Conservation Act date from the 1980s, etc.

These Acts were developed for a range of purposes, but all pre-date the concept of valued introduced species.  Our economy is built on valued introduced species such as cows, sheep, pine trees, kiwifruit and the grapes we are enjoying tonight, and we update legislation on these whenever required.  It is now timely to reconsider all of these aging Acts that impact wild valued introduced species in a modern light and HFC will be part of that thinking.

To successfully manage our valued introduced species, we need good legislation, a partnership of the willing and resources, especially funding.

The legislation is in the hands of some of you in this room, and a major step forward has been the creation of a Minister of Hunting and Fishing (the position, not the creation of the person).  This provides the status these species and activities deserve.  However, to achieve the desired outcomes, the legislation must be fit for purpose – and currently it is well overdue for the retirement village.

The coalition of the willing are now present and here tonight.  Fish and Game have a long history going back to the days of introducing these valued species to NZ.  DoC has existed for over 35 years and has a huge resource to manage.  It needs support of the public and entities like F&G, GAC and HFC.  More recently the Game Animal Council (who celebrated their 10th anniversary right here a few weeks ago) are achieving a sea change in thinking about the value of hunting and the outdoors.

These entities are reliant on each other to maximise the outcomes for NZ and it is great to see the level of cooperation and trust developing.

Natural places and their wildlife are under threat throughout the world.  Only 6% of the total world mammalian biomass are wild, the rest is humans and their domestic animals. Can we afford to lose more?  Perhaps in NZ, we are a little more fortunate and we have a lot more relatively unmodified space than most countries.  If you travel through parts of Europe for example, you can almost move through entire countries without a single hectare of wild space.

I urge you all to think about the paradise we call home here in NZ, where we can fish and hunt, where there continues to be natural and wild places and with the right management, we can protect and nurture our indigenous ecosystems.

There are many species that we do not want – mice, rats, wasps, stoats to name a few, but there are also many that provide considerable value, both economically, culturally and from a health perspective, from being out there in nature and enjoying what you have.

We have an exciting range of new technology that can assist in the optimal management of natural ecosystems and valued introduced species, but we need resources to maximise the benefits they can bring.

We cannot turn the clock back, but we have a responsibility to future generations to protect what is valuable to us and the world we occupy, so I urge you all to think about how we can do this most effectively and efficiently.

The HFC is not from the Government, but we are here to help!  We are seeking your support and help to achieve these ambitions, so our paradise is in good order for the future.