Am I alone in thinking that duck hunters are total wa*k*rs.
In fact.......I have always thought that hunting in general is for mindless wannabe soldiers.
Maybe NZ is not for me after all.

Not one myself,but a duck hunting organization in the U S, ducks unlimited, does more to protect duck habitat than any other organization I can think of. Hunting in general...it depends. Without hunting in many areas of the US, and I imagine New Zealand, the deer population would overpopulate and either starve, or be killed by cars in even greater numbers than now.
The mindset of hunters...depends on upbringing, city or rural etc..

On Friday I printed 7 t-shirts that simply said 'DUCK HUNTING FOR CHRIST'

I kid you not.

One of my colleagues then asked me what duck hunting season was like where I'm from, its a the odd comment like this every week or so thats always reminds me how little Kiwi's know about the outside world.

It's called Wildfowling in the UK...very popular...
http://www.basc.org.uk/en/department...-and-links.cfm

It doesn't really appeal to me but I respect the freedom of others to do it. I used to shoot rabbits etc when I was younger, good sport and pest control. I now enjoy fishing, which I guess some sectors of the hippy community would have branded as cruel and outlaw given half a chance.
I think NZ has a level of personal freedom which is worth preserving, and which may seem strange to those who have only lived in a more restrictive urban environment.
As a kiwi living in UK, I never understood the appeal of fox hunting or beagling, or coarse fishing for that matter, but if that's how people want to spend their time, so be it. Doesn't make them ***kers or anything else in my view. That label is reserved for the smelly hippies who go out and "protest" (read, criminally obstruct) others who are pursuing lawful activities.
The one form of hunting I really don't like is pig hunting, where the pig is surrounded by dogs and then stuck with a knife. This seems unnecessarily cruel.

Keeps the health service busy.

Well, that is a very general statement. It really depends what you define as restrictive. I am not interested in hunting or fishing, for me Europe was never restrictive in that respect. I am however very much interested in other things which are not easily found in NZ. That is why I find life in NZ restrictive while I thoroughly enjoyed the free spirit of European cities.

Having watched them on OneNews last night I'm pretty much with the original poster on this. Ridiculous for me to oppose hunting when I eat meat I suppose, but I think it's the enjoyment that people get from killing animals that rubs me up the wrong way. And their moustaches.

Waits for inevitable comment about the hypocrisy inherent in the enjoyment I get from eating murdered animals.

I should probably get my coat.........

What sort of thing do you mean?

Is it one of those camo ones?

Can you get camo moustaches?

Oh, you mean my coat? Its a really nice H&M trenchcoat I bought last year in Budapest - you don't see many of those round here.

You had to ask didn't you? Here we go again..........

I was genuinely interested. I have found little "missing" in Auckland that is available in UK cities. Obviously historical buildings, but you'd need to be pretty dim to have expected those

I really hope that you are a vegetarian with an attitude like that

Nope........love meat - it tastes great.
Just can't understand the drinking and shooting culture.
I personally know several duck hunters that started drinking the hard stuff at 6.30am with a loaded 12 gauge in their hands.
In charge of anything when you are pissed is not my idea of sensible.
And before you ask...........yes I drink as well.