In the USA , on the Apache reservation , imprisonment was commonly part of the sentence . Fish and Game officers carried firearms , batons and handcuffs . Indeed Fish and Game people told Alain they had more powers against poachers than the state police . “ They could even shoot to kill , if poachers tried to run away .”
Alain believes that in New Zealand , if hunters had good ethics , asked permission and hunted selectively and responsibly without being greedy , most farmers would willingly grant them access .
On stag management , Alain says a red deer is typically at least eight years old before it reaches full antler potential . He quotes Hungarian and German research that says red deer develop heaviest timber and best antlers at 12 – 14 years of age . “ Here in New Zealand , shooting spikers may be gunning down a potential trophy ,” he adds .
In Europe , he says , game managers can assess stag quality at two different stages – first as a spiker and then
as an eight-pointer . “ But around Gisborne I ’ ve noticed there are few eight-pointers . Owing to the present extremely good antler genetics , many stags seem to go straight from spiker to 10 or more points . This suggests the New Zealand trophy hunter needs to be more discerning and know what they ’ re looking for . Frankly , in good areas they shouldn ’ t be shooting spikers at all .”
Conversely , Alain says that if a stag has only , say , eight points but has the body of an older animal , it should be culled because it will probably never grow into a good trophy . “ The oft-held opinion in New Zealand that a big body is a good indication of trophy potential is totally wrong if the animal carries few points . Young stags with better-sized antlers – even if they are light in the timber – are the trophies of the future . Hunters need to carefully assess a stag ’ s characteristics with an eye to the future .”
After a lifetime of hunting and the Grand Slam , what has motivated Alain ?
“ Ha ! It ’ s my genetics ,” he says . Because , while he was born in New Zealand , his parents were French immigrants and the family has a long history of European hunting in their blood .
“ Many moons ago our family on my mother ’ s side owned a large property in France . Hunting and fishing were all-important in my grandfather ’ s life . So my love of the outdoors and hunting and fishing is hereditary , I guess .”
Fishing ? Well to prove the genetic theory , Alain has also twice achieved a Grand Slam in big game fishing for billfish and tuna . He was once judged “ Fisherman of the Year ” and has twice been awarded the NZ Sport Fishing Council ’ s “ Old Man and the Sea ” award for the most meritorious catch of the year .
But that ’ s another story .
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NZ Hunting & Wildlife 196 - Autumn 2017 31