The Game Animal Council (Herds of Special Interest) Amendment Bill (the Bill) passed its second reading in Parliament on Thursday 20 November 2025.
You can watch the video of the second reading on NZDA’s YouTube channel here.
The Bill aims to make the law clear, in that the Minister for Hunting and Fishing can establish a Herd of Special Interest (HOSI) in a national park and therefore exempt the herd from extermination or eradication requirements in other pieces of legislation. Based on the recommendations from the Environment Select Committee, it will do this by:
- Making a change to the to the Game Animal Council Act 2013 (GAC Act) to enable HOSI to be exempt from extermination requirements under the National Parks Act.
- Making an additional change to the National Parks Act, to directly reference the exemption of HOSI from extermination.
GAC CEO Corina Jordan says this is another positive step towards a workable legislative framework that enables sensible management of New Zealand’s game animals.
“The GAC Act is the is the first piece of legislation in New Zealand to recognise game animals as a valued introduced species and enable them to be sustainably managed while also achieving conservation outcomes,” she says.
“We are very pleased to see these changes progressed by Government.
“We heard at the second reading, concern raised about HOSI not being the right way to manage New Zealand’s conservation estate. Quite frankly, what we’re doing now isn’t working and if we don’t change approach, we’re never going to get a different outcome.
“The best examples of sustainable game animal management delivering conservation outcomes are where the hunting sector can provide leadership in the management of these herds.
“The hunting sector has significant expertise when it comes to New Zealand’s backcountry and game animals.
“When enabled to work together, recreational hunters, professional ground and aerial hunters, hunting guides, and hunting sector organisations create a system of success for game animal management.
It’s this collaborative approach with community that can achieve beneficial outcomes for managing populations and achieving positive outcomes across the environment, recreation, community, and the economy.
I want to acknowledge all our hunters that took time out of their busy days, their busy work schedules, to make submissions on this bill to emphasise the value that hunter-led conservation has in our wild animal management framework, and to emphasise how important an approach like herds of special interest is to more effectively and sustainably managing game animals in New Zealand. Our game animals, while they are introduced species, they are valued introduced species. They form a part of our culture and our society, and they have done so for many, many decades now.
Hon James Meager, Minister for Hunting and Fishing
Next steps
The Amendment Bill is currently in the ‘Committee of the Whole House’ stage. This means that the House will consider the Bill in detail, question the member of Parliament in change (Minister Meager) and make any changes.
The Bill will then go through a third reading in Parliament, prior to Royal Assent, which is when the Bill becomes law.
We look forward to the next step of this process and will provide updates as they are available.
Have your say on Sika and Wapiti HOSI management
The Minister for Hunting and Fishing is currently consulting on draft herd management plans for New Zealand’s first ever Herds of Special Interest (HOSI) – the proposed Sika HOSI in the Central North Island and Wapiti HOSI in Fiordland. Submissions close 8 December 2025.
Read about the consultation here.