Wairarapa shooting opens season

INJURY: The first injury of the duck hunting season was claimed on Saturday, in rural Wairarapa. PHOTO/FILE

Masterton police have arrested a man alleged to have accidentally shot a 44-year-old Hawkes Bay duck hunter.

The hunting accident happened in the rural area of Bideford, north east of Masterton on Saturday.

It was the first hunting injury just a few hours into the duck shooting season which started at 6am Saturday.

Police and ambulance were notified around 11.20am of a man, who had been hit in the arm by pellets shot from the gun of someone else in his hunting party.

A central police communications spokesman said his elbow was injured in the incident. Police have confirmed the victim was from the Hawkes Bay.

"It looks like one of the people in the group ... the blast of a shotgun has connected with the side of his elbow."

The caller who alerted emergency services to the incident had stated it was an accident, he said.

It was not clear how far away the two men were from each other; "but if you take precautions you shouldn't accidentally shoot anyone", the spokesman said.

Wellington Free Ambulance spokesman Daniel Paul said the injury was "pretty serious."

The man was flown to Wellington Regional Hospital by helicopter and had surgery on his elbow Saturday afternoon. He is now in a stable but serious condition in a ward, said Matt Paterson yesterday, a Wellington Hospital spokesperson.

Bideford residents spoken to by the Times-Age said they had heard about the shooting but didn't know much more than that.

Judith Callaghan said there were a few duck hunters she knew but had heard it was not one of them.

Another Bideford resident, who had been out duck shooting on Saturday, said he had heard of the incident but the man wasn't anybody he knew.

The man under arrest will face a charge of careless use of a firearm causing injury and has been bailed to appear in the Masterton District Court at a later date.

Later on Saturday, another duck hunter was shot in the buttocks and leg while hunting in Glenorchy, north west of Queenstown.

The man, also in his 40s, had minor wounds and told Queenstown Police they were caused by pellets ricocheting off something.

Nicole McKee, Firearms & Hunter safety programme manager at the Mountain Safety Council (MSC), said shooters had to be vigilant about safety precautions.

"Duck hunters need to ensure that their firing zone is always checked before they pull the trigger. They need to look at the area between them and their target, as well as beyond their target ... at the end of the day, a shot has been fired and it has hit the guy in the elbow."

The duck shooting season lasts 4-8 weeks, depending on the region. The Wellington region season runs until June 15.

In the lead up to the season, both police and the MSC stepped up publicity around safety shooting practises. Senior Sergeant Matthew Morris of the Wellington District Command Centre reminded that firearms should always be handled in a safe manner and even a momentary lapse of this can lead to serious injury or death.
- Additional reporting APNZ