Minister for the South Island James Meager has condemned the use of a drone at a duck shooting event at Lake Ellesmere, calling the incident “dangerous,” “reckless,” and “incredibly stupid.”

His remarks follow a confrontation on the opening morning of the 2025 duck shooting season, where animal rights activists launched a drone to film hunters at the eastern edge of the lake. The situation escalated when the drone was allegedly shot down by duck shooters.

“I was deeply disappointed to see protestors dangerously and recklessly disturb hunters who were doing what thousands of New Zealanders have done for hundreds of years: hunt and gather food for their friends and family,” Meager said.

“The idea that flying a drone into the faces of people lawfully operating firearms is not only dangerous but incredibly stupid.”

Meager said he has requested information from the Civil Aviation Authority and is concerned that current rules may allow this kind of “idiotic activist behaviour.”

“I am a strong supporter of the use of drone technology in aviation and the multitude of benefits drones bring, from controlling wilding pines to precision agriculture. My concern is that cowboy operators like this will result in calls for regulations that capture sensible, productive drone operators and end up costing our economy millions. We cannot afford that to happen.”

“Ensuring that our current rules can prevent this kind of behaviour is important, and if they can’t, I will be looking at what we can do to ensure law-abiding Kiwis can enjoy our great outdoors without harassment from a minority of extreme activists.”

The incident unfolded just after sunrise on Saturday, when local animal rights advocates arrived at the lake to protest and document the hunt. Activist Nick Hancock said the drone pilot was qualified and intended to capture footage of the traditional shoot. One video showed a wounded duck thrashing in the water after being shot but not killed.

A police spokesperson confirmed, “Police received a report around 10:30am today of a drone being shot at, at the eastern edge of Lake Ellesmere. Police have attended, and spoken with people at the location. Police will be following up.”

Witnesses said police spoke with the hunters at the scene but did not ask them to leave. One duck shooter told Chris Lynch Media the group left voluntarily.

“The police actually said they could stay as long as they wanted as they were within their rights to be there. The men chose to leave as the activists ruined what they worked so hard to do.”

Animal rights activists remained at the scene for several hours holding signs opposing duck shooting. They said they received positive support from passing motorists.

Police inquiries into the incident are ongoing.