Deer, boars and a host of other beasts took up parking space at the Tinwald Tavern last Sunday.

It was weigh-in day for participants of the 15th Mid Canterbury Hunting Competition, and this year’s haul was much larger than the last.

“There were two racks full of pigs,” competition co-organiser Andy Wilson said.

“There were pigs on the floors, quite a few stags and hinds too.”

Game could be bought from anywhere in the country, as long as it arrived in the carpark before Sunday afternoon.

And arrive it did – wallabies, possums and a mass of invasive species filed in on the utes of the 181 hunters signed up to the comp.

“I took my son and his mate out this year, he got a couple of red ones and a chammy [red deer and chamois].”

This year’s turnout and haul of game were huge, Wilson said, due in part to a lucky streak of clear nights.

“People could pretty much hunt all night because the moon was out. The weather was pretty good, except for the Sunday, that was s**t.”

The competition has run in the region since 2008, with some breaks due to Covid.

Wilson and some mates began it as a tradition for their kids.

“We started it up purely so the kids could go out there, shoot some rabbits and win some t-shirts, because there was no hunting competition for kids.”

The competition has a junior section, for 12 to 15 year olds, and a kids section for those 12 and under. The little ones try their aim on smaller beasts, like rabbits and possums.

“Of course, the kids have to be supervised by an adult with a firearms licence,” Wilson said.

The competition ran from June 21-23 this year.

By Anisha Satya