It is important for GAC Councillors and staff to engage with the wider New Zealand hunting community and other stakeholders and discuss how we can help improve hunting opportunities and contribute to good conservation outcomes. Participating in sector events are an important way of doing that.

Sika Show

The annual Sika Show is the largest hunting and outdoor trade show in Australasia and is a fantastic opportunity to talk to hunters about what we do. Our councillors and staff really value the opportunity to discuss the issues important to hunters as those discussions help us to raise awareness of the views of the sector. The Show is also a great chance to engage with hunting organisations such as SCI (NZ), the Sika Foundation, NZDA, Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, the NZ Tahr Foundation and DOC, as well as other sector stakeholders.

The GAC’s online hunter training platform, Better Hunting, was launched at the 2023 Sika Show

2022 Hunter Survey

The GAC ran an online survey in November 2022 to gauge the thoughts of hunters on matters relating to what impacts their hunting, game animal management, the condition of the animals and environment where they hunt and what they would like to see from the GAC’s advocacy into the future. The results of this survey are available here.

NZDA

Members of the Game Animal Council regularly attend and participate in the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association’s Annual Conference, which in 2022 was held in Hamilton. General Manager Tim Gale gave a presentation on the GAC’s Hunter Safety and Education Programme development and the Te Ara ki Mua wild animal management strategy, which is available here. Tim and GAC councillors also regularly present to NZDA branches and meet with members.


Annual Reports


Social Media

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