Millions of southern tourism dollars, lost revenue and increased costs to the Department of Conservation are all at risk if a proposal to ban heli-hunting on conservation land goes ahead, according to the South Island Wild Animal Recovery Operators' Association.
However, deer, chamois and tahr are all considered pests which need a degree of controlled culling, the cost of which would be met by taxpayers.
United Future leader Peter Dunne won a concession from National, in return for his supply and confidence vote, to ban guided heli-hunting on Department of Conservation (Doc) land and intends to outlaw the practice by 2013.
Dunedin-based Queens Counsel Colin Withnall, who is acting for the operators association, said the proposed ban on heli-hunting, or "aerially assisted trophy hunting", was ill-informed, misconceived and contrary to New Zealand's interests.
"Aerially assisted trophy hunting brings several million dollars in overseas earnings into the country every year," Mr Withnall said.
The operators' association commissioned an economic impact report six months ago. It is due for release early next year. Mr Withnall stands by claims the sector will be proved to be a multimillion-dollar earner.
"This includes the fees charged by guides, as well as transportation, accommodation, other tourism activities by the clients and their families while in New Zealand, shopping, work for the taxidermy and tanning industries," Mr Withnall said.
He said the proposed ban was being driven by recreational hunters and some hunting guides in their own interests, who wanted to remove competition for trophy animals and to gain control over hunting tahr, chamois and deer on the conservation estate.
"There are misconceptions over the nature of the activity, its effects, and much misleading information has been, and is being, disseminated by these people," he said.
This week, the Deerstalkers' Association came out strongly in favour of Mr Dunne's proposal, claiming heli-hunting was cruel and unethical and spoilt ground hunters' rights to peace in the back country.
The Professional Hunting Guides' Association opposed herding of wild animals by helicopter, but took a stance heli-hunting methods required only modification, not a ban.
Mr Withnall, a former government shooter himself, represents 12 of the 16 operators engaged in the industry, the 12 being members of the South Island Wild Animal Recovery Operators' Association.
On the vexed question of heli-hunting unfairly depriving ground-based hunters of hunting opportunities, Mr Withnall said recreational ground-based hunters had access to the entire conservation estate, including 6500sq km of tahr habitat, including national parks and wilderness areas throughout the year.
In comparison, heli-hunting operators had non-exclusive access to specified areas for a limited period only, much of it being "extremely high, glaciated, remote and precipitous", especially in national parks and wilderness areas where heli-hunting for deer, chamois and tahr was permitted only during winter months.
"Due to snow cover and climate, it is inaccessible to ground-based hunters. The same is true of much of the chamois habitat," Mr Withnall said.
He is scathing of recently aired footage in relation to heli-hunting stories, pointing out it was "misleading". The footage aired was of archive deer culling, citing the pilot, location and date when the deer was shot - to supply a meat processing plant under contract, not recreational hunting.
He emphasised heli-hunting did not involve clients shooting from a helicopter. Concession conditions prohibited shooting from the helicopter, unless by the guide for the purpose of killing a wounded animal.
"If an animal is wounded, and cannot be shot again from the ground, the hunting guide will finally dispatch it from the helicopter, to avoid unnecessary suffering," Mr Withnall said.
He said the reality of heli-hunting was that once a suitable trophy animal had been located, the pilot landed in a place where the client could shoot, and the guide (carrying the client's firearm) and client disembarked.
The helicopter then took off, and if the client succeeded in shooting the trophy, the helicopter and guide retrieved it and all returned to base.
Hunters and non-hunters alike, viewing footage of animal culls, form an emotive opinion on helicopter use when animals are seen fleeing head-long and panic-stricken across hillsides before being shot.
Mr Withnall said it was a myth and "gross exaggeration" that animals were chased "to the point of exhaustion" during heli-hunting then "driven" into the client's gun sights by aerial "herding or hazing".
The guide and client were dropped within a few hundred metres of where the animal was likely to pass and, if needed, the helicopter was positioned by flying slowly and hovering so the animal would take the preferred route, and not rush off at high speed and disappear, Mr Withnall said.
"This is not close-range manoeuvring.
"The pilot doesn't want to be anywhere near a possible line of fire and if the animal is made to run, that makes it more difficult for the client to shoot it," he said.
On criticism heli-hunting was unsporting and unethical, Mr Withnall compared the use of helicopters to the technological advances used by ground-based hunters using very high-powered rifles on tripods, laser range finders, computerised telescopic sights or spot lighting.
"Some would take the view that this is unsporting and unethical, because the use of this technology also means that the unsuspecting animal has no chance of escape," he said.
Some would consider any form of blood sports to be unethical, he said.
"[Heli-hunting] clients make an informed choice as to how they want to hunt. It is unbelievably arrogant of the anti aerially assisted trophy hunting group to presume a right to impose their own values on others in the name of 'ethics'," Mr Withnall said.
He countered claims that heli-hunting was "inhumane", comparing the use of dogs and sticking knives or bayonets by pig hunters, noting that a wounded animal could be easily spotted from the air and dispatched, especially in difficult mountain terrain.
He said most operators carried out venison recovery during the summer months, providing "considerable" control of deer numbers, which would otherwise have to be undertaken at taxpayers' expense.
Income from heli-hunting during the winter was a vital part of the viability of these businesses and if they were forced to close there would be a substantial loss of ability to control deer numbers, which at present posed no cost to the taxpayer.
Mr Withnall said, aside from single clients paying up to $100,000 for trophy heli-hunting opportunities, that this year almost $200,000 was paid to Doc in concession payments by operators, and noted that for every tahr bull trophy shot, five nannies or kids had to be culled as a "conservation contribution".
Before this condition was introduced, Doc culled about 3000 tahr every year at an estimated cost of $50 per head, or $150,000, paid for by the taxpayer. Doc has estimated that the need to do this would be reduced by two-thirds, saving about $100,000, Mr Withnall said.
"In addition, operators provide Doc with reports of animal sightings, grazing damage and information which assists planning and control measures."
Mr Withnall was scathing of Mr Dunne's proposed ban on heli-hunting, labelling it as an example of the "excesses" of MMP voting, and not being any part of National's election manifesto.
"Agreeing to a proposal which would destroy an industry, cause job losses, and a loss of substantial overseas earnings appears to be the price of a supply and confidence agreement with a one-man party," Mr Withnall said.
