Mountain Safety Council release research into hunter safety

Following the release of their first insights publication late last year called 'There and Back' which was a national look at outdoor recreation incidents, The Mountain Safety Council (MSC) has now finished a deeper look into hunting incident data.

The new report 'A Hunter’s Tale,' builds on the platform made through 'There and Back' and has uncovered confirmations of existing beliefs and a few insights that were unknown.

Mountain Safety Council Chief Executive Mike Daisley is excited that the sector now has clear evidence to build targeted initiatives, and that the data helps to remove personal opinion. The report creates new opportunities to continue collaboration with hunting groups as we progress towards implementing targeted solutions to address the issues we've identified.

Daisley explains “it was a big challenge to go through some of the data sets literally line by line at times to create this publication. But, we're glad we did because this document now represents the most comprehensive view of hunting incidents ever developed in New Zealand.

"We're now able to see the injury, search and rescue as well as fatality data as a whole and, crucially, by hunting type. What this means is that we can separate out the specific issues for each hunting type and work with user groups and organisations to develop specific safety initiatives.”

New Zealand associate Minister of Conservation, Peter Dunne, who is leading a review of illegal hunting and hunter safety for Parliament, commented on the usefulness of this publication, stating “this report represents a significant moment in our country’s collective understanding of the nature, scale and risks of hunting in New Zealand.

"A Hunter’s Tale provides a deep-dive into data sourced from a wide range of government departments and outdoor sector groups to compile a detailed snapshot of what it means to be a hunter in New Zealand.

"This is very much a good news story for the commercial and recreational hunting sector in New Zealand, it allows us to look at the issues around hunter-safety and have a discussion based on facts, not prejudice.

"I very much hope that A Hunter’s Tale can be used to establish an evidentiary baseplate for discussing how to best manage the limited risks that are posed by hunting and manage timely and effective management of those risks."

The report is currently being shared with sector and partner groups while the associate Minister will also be attending an event held at the Mountain Safety Council offices in Wellington on the 21st March to mark the public release of the document.

It's expected that this sort of research will develop more focused initiatives in the future. MSC is clear that bringing appropriate groups and experts relevant to specific issues develops the most accurate and timely interventions.

Daisley added "we make sure we have the most appropriate organisations and user groups at these issue specific collaborative meetings. What's great about the hunting space is that we now have factual evidence to develop the most targeted initiatives to suppress the various issues.

"While it’s disappointingly predictable that there are going to be serious incidents this year, we’re working hard with the sector to make sure that hunters of all generations are participating in a safe way so that we all make it home.”

For more information on hunter safety head to www.mountainsafety.org.nz

Image courtesy of Mountain Hunters New Zealand/Phil Reid.

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