Grant Dodson (Chair) is the Chief Executive of City Forests Limited, current Chairman of the Southern Wood Council and is a member of the Forest Owners Association Executive and a Board member of Forest Growers Research Ltd. Grant has an extensive background in land management and recreational hunting in New Zealand and Australia. He shares a passion for the outdoors, hunting and shooting sports and is an advocate for future generations of New Zealanders.
John Cook is based in Taupō. He is the current President of the Central North Island Sika Foundation and co-owner of the New Zealand Sika Show. He is a keen recreational hunter of deer and pigs and has enjoyed getting into bow hunting over the last five years. John sees both game animals and the environment as resources that, if managed correctly, can be there for future generations to hunt and enjoy.
Eugene Rewi (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Whare, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Ranginui) is passionate about improving health outcomes for Māori and currently works at Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora. His interests include whānau, travel and he enjoys many forms of mahi kai, especially hunting, fishing and diving.
Tui Keenan (Ngāti Porou) is a Māmā to five girls and lives in Tūranganui a Kiwa (Gisborne). In 2018 she was introduced to hunting by her husband Comrie and is now a strong advocate for 
connecting communities to the land and their food source. The start of her hunting journey was documented on Maori Television show ‘Hunting with Tui’. Her journey hasn’t stopped as she continues to pass on the matauranga (knowledge) she has received on this journey. Tui is a director of Kaiwhakangau™ (hunter) Connect and Kai Connect where she supports communities to connect with other hunters/farmers and helps to distribute MPI certified wild meat to various community groups, schools and foodbanks.
Peter Swann (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata East Coast, Tairāwhiti, Tūranganui a Kiwa) has a passion for Āotearoa’s outdoors and with over 40 years as a hunter gatherer, putting kai on the table for whānau, friends, or those in need, as well as working to ensure sustainable hunting for future generations, has always been his primary motivation. As a past president of the Poverty Bay East Coast Pig Hunters Club, and a current NZDA member, he also manages the hunter-led ROMA conservation project for the Mangaotane Trust in the southern Raukumara Range. ROMA’s mission revolves around protecting native flora and fauna and connecting people to the whenua through mahinga kai. Peter is also a member of the Mates of Tairāwhiti work place suicide prevention programme which enables life supporting conversations in the workplace.
Melissa Jackson (Uenuku, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Maniapoto) is a former lawyer, turned local government strategic planning and policy professional. She lives in Taumarunui with her husband and two daughters. Melissa is Secretary of the Central King Country branch of the NZDA and a Kaitiaki Hunting Instructor with Taumarunui based Te Awanui a Rua Charitable Trust, where she leads hunter education wānanga teaching wāhine and rangatahi the basics of safe ethical hunting practices. While hunting is her main focus, she also enjoys diving, fishing and gardening.
Callum Sheridan is the current NZDA National President. He is a member of the Auckland NZDA branch, is instrumental in organising the National Wild Goat Hunting Competition and is iwi liaison for the Woodhill Fallow Management Council. Callum owns a residential construction company and is passionate about New Zealand’s backcountry and conserving our flora, fauna and game animals for generations to come.
Andrew Simpson is a Canterbury-based lawyer and academic. He brings to GAC forty years’ experience as a hunter and twenty years’ experience as an advisor to statutory bodies. Andrew is committed to the scientifically principled conservation of wildlife and wild places.
Glenn MacPherson currently lives in Leamington near Cambridge and has been a primary school principal for the past 12 years. He has a wife and three children, who are passionate about hunting 
and fishing and spending time in the outdoors. Glenn is currently a member of the NZ Pig Hunting Association and past President of the Te Kuiti Pig Hunting Club (now Vice President). He grew up on dairy farms in and around the Tokoroa district. Glenn advocates for the preservation of recreational hunting opportunities wants to ensure hunters can enjoy access to stunning landscapes while contributing to balanced game animal populations. He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
General Manager
Tim Gale has a long-standing involvement in biosecurity and professional hunting both commercially and as a government employee. He has experience in ground operations through to policy and governance. He has been a recreational and professional hunter for over 25 years. He is involved in and passionate about game animal management, and training and equipping hunters to be safe and successful. Tim has published magazine articles, co-authored a hunting book, co-produced a hunter education DVD, produced digital hunting content and leads firearm and hunter training courses. His vision for the GAC is to continue to represent the interests of the hunting sector and improve the management of New Zealand’s unique hunting resources while contributing to positive conservation outcomes.See previous Council meeting minutes here.
Next Council meeting
The next meeting of the Game Animal Council will be held on 22 November 2024 at North Canterbury Fish & Game Council, 595 Johns Road, Harewood, Christchurch. The meeting will commence at 9am. Members of the public are welcome to attend. Please contact info@nzgac.org.nz if you wish to attend.