These are the words of Craig Golding who owns Field and Stream Australia in Bowral and was brought up with hunting.

While licensed hunters are required to follow a stringent set of rules and regulations when engaging in the sport, this isn't the case for those who hunt illegally.

Mr Golding said ethical conservation hunters had no tolerance for those who acted illegally and operated outside the law.

"Throw the book at them," he said.

"Police and the national parks need to do more and it should be treated like drink driving or any other serious criminal offence - they need to be brought to task."

Mr Golding said illegal hunters gave the wrong perception of hunters in general.

"All hunters have the responsibility to report them to the authorities," he said.

However, he was quick to emphasise there was a difference between hunting and shooting.

"It's conservation hunting verse illegal shooting," he said.

Mr Golding was brought up with hunting, and said he had a strong instinct to hunt.

Mr Golding said he harvested the meat from the majority of animals he hunts.

"It's harvesting organic meat," he said.

"A greater cross-section of hunters harvest their own meat after watching shows such as Gourmet Hunters and Catch and Cook on pay TV."

Hunting is also considered an accepted form of feral animal control, and Mr Golding said it was a very strong argument for conservation hunting.

"The more feral animals taken out, the more native species can thrive," he said.

The other argument presented is that hunting raises a large amount of revenue through licensing, which is then used to maintain the state forests.

Mr Golding said Victoria had a far better system than NSW.

"Hunting added about $439 million to state revenue in Victoria last year," he said.

"Victoria has a system in place we should emulate.

"They look at outdoor recreation as major revenue and they police it better.

"Someone will check licenses, which is something you rarely see in NSW."

With five state forests in the Highlands declared on a list of forests to be opened for amateur hunters pending a risk assessment, there has been a strong opposition from members of the community and council.

The fear of members of the community being shot by amateur hunters has been one concern expressed.

However, Mr Golding said the statistics proved these fears were unfounded.

"In the 10 years prior to 2012/2013 there hadn't been an incident where a conservation hunter injured another forest user in NSW," he said.

While licensed hunters acting legally hadn't been involved in any incidents, a spokesperson from the Forestry Corporation said there had been two accidental shootings in 2007/2008.

The spokesperson said one involved an unlicensed hunter and the other was an accidental discharge as a gun was loaded into a car.

A spokesperson from the Department of Primary Industries confirmed this and said there had been no fatalities related to licensed game hunting in NSW state forests since it commenced in 2006.

Mr Golding said the fears had been founded in scare mongering and false information.

"True hunters, by nature, aren't interfering with other bush users.

"They'll be seeking quiet corners of the forest because that's where the game is."

One of the other concerns that have been raised is whether hunting is a humane sport with methods such as pig hunting with dogs widely used.

"Like anything, there are fringe elements, but it is regulated through the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) as much as it can be with tracking collars," Mr Golding said.

"Whether there should be a minimum or maximum number of dogs used is possible, but I don't believe there's a way of monitoring the level of force used by the dog.

"When pig dogging is done correctly, and the pig isn't distressed longer than necessary, it is a very effective means of pest control."

Mr Golding said he believed hunters focused on keeping the suffering of the animal to a minimum.

"All hunters, in their own right, are conservationists and it's human nature that you don't want to see another creature suffer," he said.

"If you're hunting for game meat the last thing you want is an animal riddled with bullets."

There are regulations in place to ensure licensed hunters are aware of how to complete a humane kill.

"When they do the test for the restricted license, they have to show thorough understanding of shot placement to make it humane," Mr Golding said.