Better Hunting, a new free-to-use e-learning platform specifically designed for New Zealand hunters, was launched at the 2023 Sika Show over the weekend and is available at www.betterhunting.nz.

Developed by the Game Animal Council and supported through funding by Jobs for Nature, Better Hunting provides hunters with free online training on the fundamentals of hunting and hunter safety in New Zealand.

“Better hunting is designed to help new and inexperienced hunters be safe and successful, recognise their responsibilities as hunters, understand modern New Zealand game animal management principles and play a positive role in supporting the conservation of our native species,” says Game Animal Council General Manager Tim Gale.

The course is made up of 28 separate modules that cover important aspects of hunting such as navigation, weather forecasting, outdoors safety, firearms safety and technique, game animal management, harvesting mahinga kai and conservation. The modules not only provide useful information but are interactive and require participants to complete a short quiz to complete.

“Traditionally there has been a gap for new hunters between getting a firearms licence and learning all the skills needed to hunt safely and successfully.” says Gale. “Better Hunting is designed to fill that theory gap and assist inexperienced hunters to gain a reasonable foundation of knowledge before taking the next step into practical training and practice.”

“Because it has been designed with the sole objective of helping hunters learn and improve their skills and knowledge, Better Hunting is absolutely free to use.”

“Better Hunting has been built to be used on a laptop, tablet or phone. Courses can be downloaded for offline use through the free app as well,” says developer Larry Blair. “Learners can simply create an account and get into the 28 individual learning modules as well as skill-building games, digital trip intentions, ballot calendars and more. The platform saves your progress as you go so you can dip in and out as often as you like.”

“While the Game Animal Council is ultimately responsible for the development of Better Hunting, we were fortunate to have significant contributions from more than 20 other organisations, including government agencies, hunting sector organisations and outdoor safety experts. We are very grateful for their help and support and also wish to acknowledge the many hunters that helped us with the pilot testing phase,” says Gale.

“Better Hunting is a platform developed for New Zealand hunters, by New Zealand hunters so whether you are a recreational hunter, aspiring commercial hunter or in to harvesting fresh wild game meat for your family and community, you will find plenty to learn on the platform.”

“Just visit www.betterhunting.nz and give it a go.”

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