Kiwi venison donations prompts call for change in Australia

A hunting charity in New Zealand has donated nearly 12 tonnes of venison to community kitchens for the needy, an achievement that has prompted calls for similar action in Australia — and Tasmania is leading the charge.

Hunters4Hope, based in the North Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island, have donated more than 11,600kg of venison so far this year, representing more than 93,000 meal-portions worth of protein. 

The meat comes from hunters who donate animals they have harvested to the charity, which arranges for its butchering, processing and delivery to food banks for distribution to those in need.

Both Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party Tasmania and Shooters Union Tasmania have come out in support of the initiative and said it needs to cross the Tasman — particularly to Tasmania, where the debate around deer management continues unabated in the wake of news feral deer numbers in the state are increasing.

There is widespread anger in the hunting community about culling of deer — conducted via both professional shooters and the controversial use of 1080 poison — which is not only wasteful, but also used as one of the reasons to deny expansion of recreational hunting and volunteer pest control in the state.

Currently, wild game meat in Tasmania harvested by hunters cannot be sold or legally given away, and deer shot in culls are left to rot.

Shooters Union Tasmania president Phillip Bigg said the state’s approach to deer management was a disgrace, using unreliable figures and locking up land which ended up creating ‘safe havens’ for deer to breed out of control, inflicting significant damage on the Tasmanian agricultural sector.

Mr Bigg said the work of Hunters4Hope should be emulated in Tasmania, and the state government should get on board with making the necessary changes to allow it.

“Game meat regulations need immediate attention so farmers, contract shooters and hunters can help those with food insecurity put food on the table,” he said.

“Through human history we have survived on game meat — why, all of a sudden, is it not safe? 

“Why do we hear about starving children and families in Tasmania and food charities struggling when we can fix this with the stroke of a few pens? 

“Hunters are the solution — we are true conservationists, caring for our lands and our neighbours. 

“Let’s do better for everyone.”