Pest shooter still waiting to hear about prohibited firearms licence after two years
Tuesday, 14 June 2022
After two years and having $20,000 worth of firearms confiscated, a Central Otago pest controller is still waiting to learn if he will get a prohibited gun licence.
Commercial hunter and pest controller of 10 years Sheldon Lye first applied for a prohibited endorsement in November 2019 and was declined in April 2020.
He was told by police he did not meet the criteria, despite having done contract work for the Department of Conservation in its Himalayan tahr control operation, as well as pest control on Central Otago farms and wineries.
In May 2020, he filed a second application. After that Lye heard little from police, but had $20,000 worth of firearms confiscated from his Gibbston Valley property in 2021. These included a semi-automatic 44 Magnum and two AR-15 rifles.
**READ MORE:
* Labour yields to NZ First demands on proposed gun laws but still not a done deal
* How effective was the $120m firearms buyback scheme? We don't yet know
* Explainer: Gun buyback amnesty ends today, what happens now?
**
His endorsement applications cost $204 each.
“It’s an industry-wide problem at the moment with firearms. They have changed so many rules, I don't think they know how to cater for everything now, and they haven't got the resources to cater for it.”
Police said Lye’s application was close to being finalised and he would be advised in due course.
“The police have been dragging their feet on these issues, and it shows that they are incapable of efficiently processing and managing firearms licences,” Lye said.
“This has a significant cost to businesses and results in negative conservation outcomes on a grand scale. The initiative to make New Zealand pest-free relies on hunters to do their part.”
He believed the police were obstructive in allowing him to do his work.
Lye has owned Southern Hunting Adventures for ten 10 years. Over time he saw there was a market for his pest control business Specialist Shooting Services Ltd.
Central Otago has a problem with pests ruining crops and vines, with the rabbit population in particular increasing in volume over the past 10 years.
Since April 12, 2019, when P endorsements took effect, 561 pest control prohibited firearms endorsements have been issued and 551 pest control prohibited magazine endorsements.
The requirements and criteria for P endorsements included “recognised pest control businesses”.
Lye said police had not communicated with him well and ignored emails throughout the two years.
“My entire income relies on firearms. I have complied with everything they have asked me to do and all that has happened is I have been shuffled from one person to the next and no-one really knows what is going on.”
A police spokesperson said firearms endorsements are “generally processed and resolved by the arms endorsement team efficiently and won’t be affected by licencing delays”.
“However, delays can be experienced in situations where the applicant is not able to supply the requested documentation or is unavailable to answer queries from the arms endorsement team.”
Lye did provide receipts and business registration forms to police.
Lye said using semi-automatic weapons for pest control made the job of killing rabbits, goats and other pests quicker than single-shot rifles.
Different firearms could mean days longer in the hills, and so farmers were hiring those who could do the job quicker and cheaper with semi-automatics.
“It takes us a lot longer, so it is more expensive for us and more expensive for people to employ us to do it. You have to go three times to kill the same number of animals you would kill in one go [with a semi-automatic weapon].”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Sheldon Lye had been granted a prohibited firearms licence. In fact, a decision on his application is still pending. Updated June 15, 5pm