NZDA Advocacy Overview

In the face of numerous consultations and advocacy issues facing the hunting sector during 2022, NZDA made sure the voice of recreational hunters and shooters was represented.

19 March 2023
 
NZDA have been working tirelessly towards our goal of advocating for our members and clubs. It has been a big year for us, and we owe a great deal of our success to the dedication and commitment of many individuals.
 
Our organisation has always been committed to the protection of our sport of hunting and shooting to ensure it is sustainable and accessible to all New Zealanders. We have been vocal advocates in response to the reform of firearms laws and regulations, calling for common-sense and practical regulations around the ownership and use of firearms. Our efforts have been aimed at reducing the compliance costs and burden on legitimate firearms owners and their clubs, promoting responsible firearms ownership, and ensuring that our communities are safe and secure and have ranges to use for shooting activities.
 
Conservation and valued big game species management have also been at the forefront of our advocacy efforts. We have been working hard to protect our valued introduced species from the threat of 1080 poison and over control by government agencies, calling for stronger protections and better management of our natural resources. We have also been working with government agencies and other organisations to promote hunter education and safety to ensure that our hunting traditions are preserved for generations to come.
 
In addition to our advocacy work on firearms law reform and valued big game management, we have also been actively engaged in lobbying for planning law reform that reflects firearms use and our ranges. We believe that having access to safe and well-managed firearms ranges is critical to the health and wellbeing of our communities because it brings people together to use firearms in a safe and managed way, where new shooters can learn and be guided by the experienced. We have been advocating for planning laws that take into account our long-standing ranges to mitigate against environmental and social impacts of development which make it harder for our ranges to operate, and event exist.
 
None of this would have been possible without the tireless efforts of our dedicated members, volunteers, and staff. In particular, we would like to recognise the exceptional contributions of our key advocacy team, Gwyn Thurlow, NZDA CEO and Legal Counsel, and law clerk, William Ferris. These two individuals have been instrumental in our advocacy efforts, bringing their expertise, passion, and commitment to everything they do. Their knowledge and experience has been invaluable in shaping our submission and strategies, and their work helped to elevate our message to policymakers and the public. By being a member of NZDA, you help resource our association so that we can hire and retain people like them and fund our vision.
 
As a hunting community, we benefit from such advocacy work that happens behind the scenes, but as NZDA members we know first-hand the effort and its result. NZDA would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our advocacy efforts over the past year. Together, we are making a real difference. We are proud of what we have achieved, and we are committed to continuing our work towards a safer, more accessible, and more sustainable future for all recreational hunters and shooters.

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Find and join a branch to get involved with promoting and protecting hunting in New Zealand! Search here.

https://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/join-and-support-us/branch-finder/