Thread: Rangers escorting those in blue...

In so far as entry onto private land is concerned, anybody can.... they don't have to be invited policeman or not. This is a common law principle and entry onto property is effectively a right until that right is removed.

There are specific exclusions to this not the least of which is when you are carrying a firearm and do not have permission. However the offence of trespass is not complete until you have been told to leave by the owner or occupier of the land, either in person, or by notice served directly to you, (a sign on the fence is not sufficient) to leave; and then you fail to do so after having been given reasonable time to do so. (The old trespassers will be prosecuted sign is a joke... cause you don't trespass until you have been told to leave and have failed to do so - because you are not trespassing by entering property without permission)

So, you don't have to hand over your property to the land owner, leave your vehicle behind, and he cannot direct which direction that you are going to leave by...

People don't seem to understand this stuff...

Don't not however enter onto land with a firearm without permission, or expect to end up in court and lose your firearms licence.

And to be fair you should ask permission to enter property as a matter of courtesy and respect ... however this is not always practicable, and if in that situation and you run into an upset landowner, be polite, remain calm, explain yourself if possible, and then tell them that you will leave and how you intend to do so.... if the situation is highly charged, don't prolong the interaction just leave..

I forget whether you have to supply your personal information at that point, pretty sure that you don't but that needs to be checked... its probably a smart thing to do if asked, but you could expect a trespass notice warning you off the property for the next 2 years perhaps and then you cannot return for that period... without committing the offence of trespass.

So yes you could tell the policeman to leave your property if you are the owner or occupier duckshooting morning, but I suggest that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. If you were an owner who was not shooting and happened across a ranger crossing your land, you could probably tell him to leave as well, if you were shooting that might not be the case.... again that would have to be checked out.. and again perhaps not the smartest thing to do...

So after all that... sounds like if everyone used some common sense, there wouldn't be too many problems...

Originally Posted by Tussock

It might be wrong, but people have been doing it forever. I bet you, if they announced this publicly six months ago, a good portion of those shooters who treat opening as a party, would have gone "hmmm, if we cant drink maybe we should try shoot some ducks" and done proper preparation.

Not quite right Tussock, the 70+ father in law and his offsider do a lot of work to their duckshooting spot (and a couple of others). The first bottle of rum will be done by 9 at the latest. This is the way it is for a lot of the oldboys and the rural ones, they look forward to it and do far more for duckshooting than I've ever seen f&f do.

Originally Posted by Tussock

If your not a fly fisherman your a sub class.

Hang on, I'm not into fly fishing

Quack ..

Originally Posted by Tussock

Round here its not even fishing. Its fly fishing. If your not a fly fisherman your a sub class. The Waitaki is slightly cloudy, so most of the time you can not fly fish in it. This results in ZERO interest in it, even though its one of the best playgrounds game bird enthusiasts and fisherman have in this country.

Damn it! Now I've got The Ballad of the Waitaki by The Plainsmen stuck in my head.

Yes there is only one type of fishing isn't there; the only type I'm never likely to ever do. I'll stuck with forking out my dollars though and see about changing the system from within as in the foreseeable future that is the only way to get any change.