Spahn said the paid service would offer \u201cpeace of mind\u201d to verified, licensed users, who could browse private properties and book hunting land with accommodation and safe parking.<\/p>\n
About 600 farm owners and managers nationwide had pre-registered, Spahn said.<\/p>\n
Relations and digital content manager Philipp Spahn says Huntable is a “win-win” for pest control and hunters.<\/p>\n
Accessing private hunting land in regions such as Whanganui had not been easy, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly where Huntable comes into play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Whanganui District has more than 166,000ha of public conservation land for hunting by permit, including the Whanganui National Park and the Wait\u014dtara Conservation Area.<\/p>\n
Whanganui River Hunting and Food Festival<\/a> co-founder Chris Kumeroa (Taranaki, T\u016bwharetoa, Whanganui, Ng\u0101ti Hine) said it was a \u201cprime spot\u201d for hunters from surrounding cities.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an abundance of animals and they\u2019re a pest as well as a food source.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got lots of land blocks across our region, more than 200,000 acres [80,000ha] of M\u0101ori-owned blocks.\u201d<\/p>\n It was challenging to get M\u0101ori on to their land blocks to hunt, Kumeroa said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes they don\u2019t know where they belong. I\u2019ve got a cousin up in South Auckland, he\u2019s aware he comes from Whanganui, but he\u2019s not sure which blocks he can access.\u201d<\/p>\n Te Awanui a Rua Trust<\/a> director Anahera Ngataierua TeKere Hose said some M\u0101ori shareholders were \u201clucky\u201d to hunt on their land.<\/p>\n \u201cThey find it really restrictive hunting on iwi land because they\u2019re not established iwi blocks.<\/p>\n \u201cEstablished meaning that most M\u0101ori lands don\u2019t have their lands set up for hunting purposes due to the health and safety requirements \u2013 licensing and remote access.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got shareholder hunts but that\u2019s hardly anything; that\u2019s only one weekend a year. Otherwise, they\u2019re on DoC [Department of Conservation] land.\u201d<\/p>\n Under current health and safety laws, landowners could be liable when hunters are injured on their properties.<\/p>\n Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden announced health and safety reforms in April<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n They included removing liability for land owners and managers when recreation-related accidents \u2013 such as through hunting, biking or outdoor climbing \u2013 occur on their land, unless they result from their own work.<\/p>\n The change will come into force on April 1 next year.<\/p>\n Spahn said there were many reasons people wanted to hunt on private land, particularly beginners and those hunting with children.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know you\u2019re not going to run into any other hunters or upset anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can definitely hit up DoC land and go hunting but, again, you\u2019re contending with other hunters, you\u2019re contending with having to figure out exactly where to go.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never exactly know, is it safe to leave your car, are you going to come back to have your window smashed in?<\/p>\n \u201cWith public land, if it\u2019s easy to get to, it\u2019ll be hunted a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Spahn said trophy-hunting communities were \u201chealthy\u201d but too expensive for many recreational hunters.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t want to fork out $10,000 for a stag or $6000 for a helicopter hunt … then you\u2019re looking at, basically, farms.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just not being covered at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n The app would operate nationwide, focusing on the central North Island.<\/p>\n