Hunting and shooting wildlife

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Overview

You must follow the rules for hunting and shooting wildlife including:

• what you can hunt or shoot
• when you can do it
• what equipment you can use

You can be fined or jailed for hunting illegally or causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

You must have permission from the land owner.

Firearms and shotgun certificates

You must get a certificate to use a shotgun, rifle or other firearm.

You don’t need a certificate for:

• air rifles up to 12ft lb in power
• air pistols up to 6ft lb in power

You can’t use:

• bows or crossbows
• explosives (other than the legal ammunition for a firearm)

Managing wildlife and controlling pests

There are different rules about what you can do to manage wildlife on your land or control pests on your property.

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