Just to be clear the actual issue is about about paying clients shooting trophy animals from helicopters. These people are specificlly targeting the top trophys in the most easiest of ways of finding and shooting them, and there is a real case of in a short period, males of species will not live long enough to mature to trophy size, nor will they breed for long.

Along with there are gazetted wilderness zones in NZ where you cannot fly a chopper around, except to drop people off at designated landing sites. This is to preserve the wilderness. They now intend to allow for choppers on these missions to buzz around whereever. Its not just hunters that are against this but Alpine clubs, tramping clubs and all others who value the true wilderness aspect of the mountains.

The political side of it is that DOC knew that operators were doing this on theri WARO permit, but didn't give a damn. Then not long ago, a poor American chap got out of a chopper wearing slippers and fell straight over a cliff. DOC decided not to procesute the operator probably because they didn't care for people pointing out the fact they were not doing their job int eh first place, and now they have also decided to allow everyone to do it legally while they decide whether to make it legal. Guess what, I think it might be legal soon...
Put it this way Mike from DOC who replies to your emails seems to think its not illegal at all, yet it clearly states on the WARO permits that they cannot do it. Also, firearms laws would be broken as well, you cant shoot from a vehicle in NEW Zealand.

And, ethically? Ethically, gentlemen, it just makes me sad.