Theres different types of unintentional shootings (theyre not accidents). The takahe one sounds like a combination of poor management - resorting to use voluteers for that is asking for trouble IMO.
The incidents that happen during spotlighting are really reckless behaviour - night shooting is inherently unsafe, that's why its banned on conservation lands
Unintentional shooting when handling firearms - say cleaning, unloading, crossing fences are also reckless and is simply incorrect handling procedure
You would expect all of these to be preventable.
its the misidentification of target that is perplexing.
I don't really subscribe to the "my mind played tricks on me". If it was valid, it would be a legit excuse to get off a prosecution.
IMO it comes down not just failure to identify a target, but failure to use correct shot placement. ie be certain that you are aiming at a part of the animal that will deliver an lethal hit.
You don't hear of bow hunters having these problems. They HAVE to have a very clear shot to be successful.
Also identifying what it is you are actually shooting at. If its a stag, are the antlers worth taking. - that means seeing and counting the points etc. If its intended to just taken venison, what is it, stag, hind, yearling
There is a tendency in NZ to "just shoot it", whatever it is. stag, hind etc. Also, just hit a brown bit. Don't worry about wounding.
Decent shot placement means the hunters cant help but have correctly identified it is a wild animal being aimed at.
Shooting at long distances out in the open, requires fairly carefull aiming, and not just aiming at a brown bit. Theres hasn't been any of these incidents under those circumstances that I am aware of. neither do trophy hunters who are looking for something better than what they have already, seem to be guilty of unintentional shootings.
The readiness to just kill a deer, regardless of what it is, is a kiwi thing, where we have no real game management. Deer are pests, and "kill them all", prevails.
As far as I know, all of the misindentifiction of target incidents have involved relatively close shooting in bush, where there isn't usually time to look too long before a deer runs off, so "snap shooting" is common place, that's a risky practice, if time isn't taken to take a clean shot that will be lethal. (the deer ends up wounded, and worst case, it isn't a deer, its a person)
Despite all this, I am not sure we have a relatively "high" shooting death rate. I think based on population, its a lot higher in the USA, Canada is similar to NZ and Aus is a bit lower.
That so called experienced hunters are also involved, doesn't mean much. Hunters can have practices they adopt, that no one ever see's. Usually, 100 percent of the time, just aiming at a bit of brown doesn't turn out to be another hunters. But what often happens, is poor shot placement leaves deer wounded, often got with 2nd or 3rd shot, or even getting away and dying. And can go thru life doing it. And they get away with it, except sometimes it goes all wrong.
How these incidents are prevented in NZ, I have no idea. Perhaps harsher penalties will make hunters realize the risk they are taking, and be more carefull.
Theyre no different to drunk drivers, really