Alexandra pest controller Robert Andrews is unsure he will be able to get spare parts such as rifle barrels, with one importer telling him it will no longer be involved because the market has shrunk.
“We are only looking at probably 300 commercial users with semi-automatics for pest control and they may have two or three firearms each and then factor in the part-timers so I would guess we are talking maybe 1000 to 2000 prohibited firearms nationwide.”
The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners estimates 170,000 now-prohibited weapons were imported in the last 10 years.
New Government rules ban semi-automatic, lever and pump action rifles and shotguns with magazines with more than five rounds.
The initial proposal would have required landowners needing rapid-fire weapons for pest control to establish a designated company.
But the Government with the support of NZ First has passed an amendment to the Arms Legislation Bill, which, among other measures, allows landowners and agricultural and forestry land managers to apply for endorsements to use prohibited firearms for pest control.
The earlier provision requiring farmers to establish a company to do the work has been dropped.
Federated Farmers rural security spokesman Miles Anderson says the changes were the result of its advocacy.
Landowners with pest problems are now on equal footing with the Conservation Department, regional councils and professional pest controllers.
Andrews, a professional hunter for more than 30 years, says there is no certainty those permitted to use banned weapons can get new rifles or parts.
If they can the price is likely to be highly inflated.
During lockdown he wore out two barrels in Central Otago and while he has spares he is uncertain how they can be replaced.
He can apply for an import permit from the police but then has to employ a United States exporter and that is not a given.
The paperwork alone will cost US$500 to US$600 and take at least six months to process.
Previously, major gun retailers imported the weapons.
“They (Government) knew this was coming but they would not listen to us, just like everything else we tried to say.”
He finds it ironic a wallaby cull is part of the Government’s covid-19 economic recovery project.
The best weapon to do that work is a now banned.
“A bolt action rifle compared to a semi-automatic in the majority of situations is 50% less effective.”
The Deer Stalkers Association remains opposed to the amended Bill, primarily because of the imposition of enforcement and compliance on law-abiding users, which, it says, fails to address illegal firearm use and possession by criminals.
“The NZDA is of the view that a good law encourages and assists compliance rather than oppressing, alienating and unreasonably regulating significant parts of the community.
“Unfortunately, the overall punitive nature of the Arms Legislation Bill as it is presently worded appears designed to specifically target the law-abiding by dramatically increasing the bureaucracy and cost of getting and holding a firearms licence while introducing new barriers, all with no demonstrable improvement in public safety.”
