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Pig Hunting: New Zealand Outdoor Magazine article: June/July 2011

Pigs occupy both private and public land, and are even bold enough to lift up or push through game estate fences and move in there as well. No holds barred for a pig: the boars travel kilometres for food or sex, and a trophy boar can be a will of the wisp animal to track down and kill. Scores of hunters have nailed a pig when hunting deer, but on the whole you need dogs to nail pigs, particularly the big boars repeatedly. The famous ghost buster film slogan “who you gonna call” applies to pig hunting too and in the South Island is often answered with the name Brendan Matthews.

He owns a big pack of dogs that are regularly working on pigs and the success statistics are very impressive. He has taken numerous 200 pound plus boars, and just last month (March) he nailed a big 220 pounder. The majority of his pig hunting is non-commercial, as he loves this sport, and him, his son Caleb and assorted mates are regularly out keeping the dogs fit and experienced. It is an option available to clients though and when he is booked he charges his daily guiding rate of $500. For that rate the client gets to hunt with him and knife or shoot whatever on the day the dogs find. He gets to take the trophy or pork home as well. This is called a “luck of the day” hunt, and clients need to know it may occasionally result in no pig being caught.

If a client specifically wants to hunt only a trophy boar, he needs to book in two or three days and be prepared to pay a $500 trophy fee as well. This is because Mathews will have to spend several unpaid days trying to locate a boar in advance of the hunt. No easy matter as boars are solitary, wandering nomads for large parts of their life. Most kiwi clients prefer the former hunt as the randomness of what the dogs may find is a big part of the fun of pig hunting. Matthews has long been a loyal advertiser in this magazine and offers the kiwi client meat, management, and free-range trophy hunts as well as the pig hunting.

Game bird guiding is another speciality, as are venison hunts. For example, his best kiwi hunter meat deer package is NZ$850 for two fallow deer, which includes his guiding fee, transport, and accommodation in his hut if the hunt is an evening/morning adventure. The hunt usually occurs on his Gapes Valley property near Geraldine. Mathews is also happy to combine a pig hunt with a fallow deer meat hunt, as they often occur in the same general area. Prices are negotiable. Rather than describe in words various hunts this article is heavy on photographs. Look at them and drool.

These boars are serious heavyweight contenders and the dogs that caught them often looked like they had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson when the various battles ended. Boss and Laddie head the crew of top-notch mutts, but even the top dogs can suffer accidents. In researching this article I found out that Laddie had been on the brink of death on a recent hunt. Occasionally you get lucky like this 209 pounder that crossed the road in front of us while we were going pig hunting one dark morning. He had a full bladder and quickly bailed, but that is a rarity not the norm.

Pig hunting is a physical sport, and clients should realise the dogs and the pig dictate where and when the hunt will end. There is a lot of walking finding the pig, a lot of running getting to the bail, a battle killing the pig, and then retrieval of the carcass back to the vehicle. Hunters and dogs love it. Pigs usually run downhill and that means that it could end in a massive gorse patch, a dark ravine, or that scrubby piece of second growth so the climb back out can be tough.

Contact Greg: fairchase@paradise.net.nz