Video: Hunter’s Stag Snatched by Helicopter Marksmen
OutdoorHub Reporters 09.04.15
How would you feel if, after stalking a stag for hours in the wilderness, a bunch of market hunters swooped in on their helicopter, shot your stag, and airlifted it out from right under your nose?
Yeah, you wouldn’t be happy either. The odds of that happening in the United States are pretty low. In New Zealand, however, where market hunting for some game species is legal and is often done from the air, hunters often dread the characteristic sound of helicopter blades.
“This is the reality of hunting public land in New Zealand,” wrote the video’s uploader. “I am not posting this to inspire or conjure hatred toward the people involved. Just thought I would share my experience.”
Such commercial hunts are called a Wild Animal Recovery Operation (WARO), and the meat harvested is usually sold either domestically or exported to countries where game meat is scarce. For this hunter, it also meant that what could have been his dinner will now be shipped overseas.
“Pretty heartbreaking to watch this unfold in front of me but such is life,” the uploader wrote.
Video includes some strong language.
