# Hunting > Game Bird Hunting >  Puke or Pukeko?

## Dundee

A well known fact that the pukekos eat ducklings and duck eggs.

So why have them on the game bird list? They should be a bloody pest not a game bird.

Never eaten one as I'm to well fed.:

Got this pic from F&G tonight of a pukeko carrying away a duckling.  They no its a predator why have it as a game bird?



Don't forget that the harrier hawk is on partially protected list now so shoot the fkers if they are worrying your birds,or stock.

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## Aly

Maybe it's because there are only two duck species which are endangered in NZ? The rest are free game?

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## Dundee

> Maybe it's because there are only two duck species which are endangered in NZ? The rest are free game?


Blue duck (Whio) and Teal ?

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## Toby

I dont think they're endangered. Cunts are everywhere. We used to have tons on our lawn. Neighbour released them breed like rabbits and she asked me not too shoot them so I havent but shot a ton of blanks at them now they dont come on our lawn

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## veitnamcam

They run culls of them in certain areas?

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## Aly

> Blue duck (Whio) and Teal ?


And grey duck I think. 

In some areas they are everywhere. My sister owns a farm in Westport and you practically can't go ten meters without seeing them in the bush. Westcoast full of them. Just gotta make sure they aren't mistaken for Takahe, which are a protected species.

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## Rushy

It is open season all year round in Rushy land.  Bastards shit in the troughs so I exercise permanent pest control

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## sako75

memo to self - don't get caught shitting near one of Rushy's troughs

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## SiB

Especially when wearing my bird man cape and goggles .....

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## possummatti

legally your allowed to shoot them all year around if they are destroying your crops. so pretty much go hard ayway

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## sako75

Pukes eating ducklings is all part of the food chain. The reason why ducks have so many is a good chance that 1 or 2 will survive long enough for someone with a shotty to do there part in controlling numbers and put a meal on the table
they all play a part in the ecosystem

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## Beetroot

I am in the Waikato and there are millions of bloody Pukes.
What is the exact rules on shooting them?

I know they are fair game during duck shooting, but do you have to get a permit to shoot them as a pest, or can you just blast away?

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## Dundee

Unfortunately they are classed as a game bird so an application to F&G to 'shoot or disturb' is needed.
But what no one knows doesn't hurt right :ORLY:

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## EeeBees

Their chicks would have to be the most ugly of any hatchlings...

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## Rushy

> Their chicks would have to be the most ugly of any hatchlings...


Agreed.  A little black fluff ball that is all legs and feet

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## Maca49

Yeah but they're bright, turning on light switches and using paint rollers! :Thumbsup:

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## Rushy

> Yeah but they're bright, turning on light switches and using paint rollers!


Mark Vetty is a very clever man.

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## Kiwi Sapper

> Their chicks would have to be the most ugly of any hatchlings...


Hmmmmmm. Not to sure about that as there is some strong competition for that claim.

*Stephanie Key, took the raunchy self-portraits for Paris Design Week*

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## Haggie

Usually thin the numbers out whenever there is more then a few, pukes are a great way to get farmers to let you shoot on their land.

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## Tahr

Beautiful birds. I wouldn't kill one. To me they are kiwi icons. Their silliness adds to their charm.

I accept that they do need to be controlled a bit because they damage silage wraps and become a nuisance but just killing them for the sake of it is beyond me. I don't know what leaving a beautiful bird laying dead in the paddock does for anyone.

Herons and bittens eat baby trout...do you shoot them too?

I still love you though Dundee  :Thumbsup:

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## Snuffit

Aussie import that likes it here too much.

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## Dundee

Only seen a bittern once and I didn't shoot it :Thumbsup:  They are weird looking birds.

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## Pointer

I started a poll on this maybe a year back now, the response was quite divided. Most seemed in favour of some sort of culling ,the rest wanted to 'save the pook!" - However, they are legal to shoot in season; does anybody go out of the way to knock them back? how about a forum shoot if anyone knows of properties with a plague of pooks?

As a side note it was interesting to see how many people thought they were a native species  :Have A Nice Day:

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## GSP

Had a big shoot up last month in Nelson Nth.  F&G organised on behalf of farmers being plagued by them.  I heard that last year same area about 400 shot, may be an exaggeration but I do know they get a lot.  Was same weekend as pheasant hunting.

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## Scribe

> I started a poll on this maybe a year back now, the response was quite divided. Most seemed in favour of some sort of culling ,the rest wanted to 'save the pook!" - However, they are legal to shoot in season; does anybody go out of the way to knock them back? how about a forum shoot if anyone knows of properties with a plague of pooks?
> 
> As a side note it was interesting to see how many people thought they were a native species


They are listed as a native species by DOC???? And enjoy partial protection from other organization

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## Pointer

They're endemic Scribe, not native  :Have A Nice Day:

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## deadidick

We have them out where we where living in Taupaki. They were in like three different tribal groups, always rooting and scrapping each other. They killed and ate everything, Ducklings, baby rabbits, rats, mice, gold fish, free ranging chickens eggs, fruit off the trees. The pair of parries that had been living on the property for years kept getting all their babies scoffed by the mongrels. The parries modified their behaviour one year and tried nesting in a big hole in the side of an old man pine ( I shit you not, first time I seen the parry coming out the hole in the tree I thought I had better lay off the Stienies) but the babies all fell out and got eaten anyway. I have seen the local hawks worrying them as well, they would fly in to the wind about a meter above the Puke babies basically in a hover sort of mode trying to grab one, and the parents would leap up at them and try and grab the Hawks with their big freaky feet. 
Land lord accused me of eating all his nectarines, I had seen the bastards standing in the tree one would use his beak and stab it into the fruit and pull it down to his mate on the ground who was keeping a look out.
Hardcase buggers all ways causing shit.

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## Pengy

Does endemic not mean that they are only found here in NZ, IE unique to one country.  I would have thought that meant it is native ? semantics eh
My little book of NZ birds tells me they are native  :Sad:

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## Toby

2. Native and introduced birds &ndash; Birdwatching &ndash; Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand




> New Zealand’s birds can be categorised as endemic, native or introduced.





> Endemic birds-Most of New Zealand’s native birds are endemic – they are found nowhere else





> Native birds-Native birds are those that naturally occur in New Zealand. In addition to endemics, they include species that also exist in other countries.





> Introduced birds-Thirty-nine deliberately introduced species have formed self-sustaining wild populations.

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## Tahr

> They're endemic Scribe, not native


Yeah...they flew here  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Scribe

The swamp block, Hauraki Plains where we shoot we had a 1080 aerial drop about 4 years back. It sure cleaned out the Pukes, they are only just coming back.

Must have cleaned outa lot of ducks as well possibly because the pond levels were very low. It was the worst shoot for many years and actually the duck population is still very low.

Worst thing was the place was still loaded when duck shooting came around and it was recommended not to take dogs into the block. 

We did, but many did not. There were a lot of very disgruntled duck shooters that year. Very few ducks are ever retrieved in the Swamp Block without a dog.

Jasus what a rat population explosion we have had since, our lodge is almost unliveable as we cant despite the trying keep them out.

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## deadidick

I seen them on the way up the Sunshine Coast from Brissy on the sides of the highway. Musta flew here from aussie? Probably why the like the rooting and fighting.

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## kotuku

dont get much sympathy from me.iknow on the coast thecockies frequently request F&Gassistance to deal with plagues of the bastards.i remember WCF&G manager telling me of a bloke who rang up seeking assistance as hed'd got sick of blowing them out of trees with his .270. F&G organised a drive and cleaned up 400odd if my memories correct.


also those whove attended the "great grey valley duckhunt   in  years past will remember the sunday morning call for volunteers to go to rogatskis farm up the ahaura valley and deal to the blue huas!
 Ive heard its good exercise though havent done it as always overdosed on great hunting(ducks&geese) ,great company(the locals) and great tucker courtesy of the ikamatua volunteer firebrigade boys &partners. If westcoast F&G do hold another one in 2015 -get on it -its an eyeopener!,BTW -bomb the blue bastards &save the ducks. :Pacman:

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## sako75

You have to admit, those baby Pukes on the Contact Energy TV adds were quite cute the way they walk in the house and turn on the lights  :Cool:

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## sako75

OMG just read what I posted. Think I have baby brain. Someone bitch slap me quick

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## Scribe

I like to see a few around our swamps, they would be a bit desolate without them. They are not a hard bird to control with a good team of keen bird shooters and its fun.

I enjoy watching a puke funeral. One gets run over and the rest crowd around and look at it and make a gonk noise. Nek minnit car gets another one and they crowd around that and do the same.

Its interesting to watch a group that lives near your house. They seem to have a well defined social structure. If a hawk bothers one of them the mob come rushing to the rescue like the Beagle Boys. A mob might visit from across the paddock and there is a hell of a fuss.
Fighting Rooting screeching, all sorts of stuff. I guess its their sort of rock concert, big day out

They have the reputation of NZ most promiscuous bird. As the parents hand over their chicks to the young adults who have not nested to raise, it allows them to have multiple nesting in a single season.

Probably earned their reputation for fighting and rooting

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## sako75

"Probably earned their reputation for fighting and rooting "

Sounds like more of a NZ icon than the Kiwi

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## Scribe

> "Probably earned their reputation for fighting and rooting "
> 
> Sounds like more of a NZ icon than the Kiwi


I have said it before. The Kiwi icon is embarrassing.

Our Aircraft and Trucks used to have a Kiwi painted on them in Vietnam. A less warlike creature the world has yet to see.

The Americans referred to our pride and Joy as those 'Fat Assed Ducks'.

I remember a discussion I had up here as I gently tried to explain to a gentleman who wanted to have all the pigs on the Peninsula poisoned in case they ate kiwi's. I said if you poison them we will re release the pig.

"The pig is part of the folklore of this area" I told him . "I can well remember hanging on to every word of the men who lived just to hunt the huge boars in the ranges around here. Of hero dogs and fighting pigs, shields two inches thick and tusks that killed with a single flick. 

What stories these were to stir a young mans blood. There is even an old story I read as a child called "The Great Boars of the Coromandel"

"Who is ever going to write about the 'Great Kiwi of Coromandel" I asked him. "It just doesn't have the right sort of ring to it"

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## kotuku

I taught one to dance once with my .22. unbeknown to me at some stage It became confused and unable to tell left from right ,ran into my guiding round. very sad demise that ,altho in true greenie fashion it did become fertiliser after considerable time!

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## Pointer

> Does endemic not mean that they are only found here in NZ, IE unique to one country.  I would have thought that meant it is native ? semantics eh
> My little book of NZ birds tells me they are native


I thought they were native too mate until I had my head taken off at another forum  :Ouch...it Hurts:

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## sako75

You need to learn how to duck a bit quicker

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## R93

> I seen them on the way up the Sunshine Coast from Brissy on the sides of the highway. Musta flew here from aussie? Probably why the like the rooting and fighting.


Same here. Queensland has heaps of the bastards.

I remember an old ozzy program called the Sullivan's. You always heard Pukes squawking in the background when they did military scenes.

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## Scribe

> I thought they were native too mate until I had my head taken off at another forum


But they are native!!!!

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## Scribe

> 2. Native and introduced birds  Birdwatching  Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand


But doesn't this above explain they are native or have I missed something here.

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## Toby

Sorry Scribe that link was more to do with the meaning of native and endemic 

This leads me to believe they are Native. So Pointer was right and the people who tried to take there head can go take their own head off?



Pukeko: Wetland birds

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## Dundee

I read somewhere a while ago that they were introduced from Aussie years ago but have been here long enough to be called native.

Here is the link.

Pukeko - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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## R93

They are thought to have come from Oz but are native?

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## Toby

> They are thought to have come from Oz but are native?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


Yeah haha, if what dundee read is true does that mean magpies and plovers become native too?

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## Scribe

> Sorry Scribe that link was more to do with the meaning of native and endemic 
> 
> This leads me to believe they are Native. So Pointer was right and the people who tried to take there head can go take their own head off?
> 
> Attachment 29182
> 
> 
> 
> Pukeko: Wetland birds


I am clearly missing something here. 

DOC clearly lists the Pukeko as a native bird. It is possible for a native bird to be placed on a shooting licence, witness the Paradise Duck.

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## Dundee

> Yeah haha, if what dundee read is true does that mean magpies and plovers become native too?


I'm not the encylcopedia Toby,but it seems most Aussies get shot when they arrive here :Wink:

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## kiwi39

They're a bloody Pasture eating , water trough fouling PEST. 

Should be allowed to be SHOT ON SIGHT ... 

T

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## Tahr

Hah! The never ending pursuit to discredit a beautiful bird's heritage and habits in order to justify shooting the poor things  :Thumbsup:

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## Toby

> Hah! The never ending pursuit to discredit a beautiful bird's heritage and habits in order to justify shooting the poor things


They're not that great get over it

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## Dundee

These are for Tahr a beautiful fukn bird just shat in my trough. :Grin:

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## kiwi39

> Hah! The never ending pursuit to discredit a beautiful bird's heritage and habits in order to justify shooting the poor things


right. whatever. I've seen them shitting in my troughs ... and had to clean them out ... 

I've seen 15-20 birds in the evening ... turning over the pastures ... ripping the grass out by the roots ... 

but you keep believing they're a beautiful bird ... 

and its not like we're short of them ...

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## Rushy

> These are for Tahr a beautiful fukn bird just shat in my trough.
> Attachment 29183
> Attachment 29184
> 
> Attachment 29185


You need sons and a .22.  Oh wait you have them both.   :Wtfsmilie:

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## veitnamcam

I thought endemic ment arrived here by natural means but didn't evolve here over millions of years etc.

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## Hunt4life

Pukeko is a native, but not endemic. Just because something is native, doesn't mean we protect it, unless population becomes threatened. This menace is far from threatened...rather thriving, everywhere! Winter is a really bad time to be a pukeko on my farm

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## Hunt4life

> I thought endemic ment arrived here by natural means but didn't evolve here over millions of years etc.
> 
> Sent from my GT-S5360T using Tapatalk 2


"Endemic" means a species exclusively living in country/land mass of origin. Every 'endemic' species is a 'native', but not every native is endemic

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