Public consultation on the Game Animal Council (Herds of Special Interest) Amendment Bill concluded on 24 July 2025.

The Bill seeks to clarify the law, to enable the Minister for Hunting and Fishing to establish a Herd of Special Interest (HOSI) in a national park and therefore exempt the herd from extermination or eradication requirements under conservation legislation.

“The NZ Game Animal Council (GAC) would like to thank those who engaged in the consultation process and raised awareness of the opportunity to submit,” GAC CEO Corina Jordan says.

“The GAC is a hunter-led statutory body that represents the views of hunters. Showing your support for the Bill also shows your support for the GAC,” she says.

GAC submission

The full GAC submission on the Game Animal Council (Herds of Special Interest) Amendment Bill can be found here.

“Our national parks support a range of values such as conservation, recreation, cultural, social and economic. It’s important that modern law reflects these values in a way that still provides for conservation outcomes,” Jordan says.

“The Game Animal Council Act 2013 (GAC Act) envisaged a conservation approach that is based on multiple values – not just the traditional purist values that are prevalent in outdated conservation laws and strategies.

“Hunter skills and knowledge can greatly aid conservation efforts, providing insights into animal behaviour, population dynamics, and ecosystem health.

“The contribution hunters offer often goes unrecognised in the current conservation framework, which tends to overlook the collaborative potential between hunting and conservation.

“To achieve effective and inclusive conservation, hunting needs to be integrated into our conservation narratives,” Jordan says.

“By engaging hunters as partners in conservation, we not only recognise their expertise, but also embody a more comprehensive approach to environmental stewardship.

“Existing conservation law is outdated and predates the GAC Act and its modern approach to conservation. Reform to the New Zealand conservation framework is urgently needed.

Key recommendations

“The GAC supported the intent of the proposed changes in the Game Animal Council (Herds of Special Interest) Amendment Bill; however, recommended further amendments to eliminate any confusion about whether designating a HOSI within a national park is appropriate,” Jordan says.

“It is essential that valued introduced game animal herds and hunting are properly recognised across conservation legislation and policy, so we can effectively protect both the parks and the wildlife they support.”

Additional recommendations included:

  • The GAC Act should allow flexibility to develop formal agreements with private landowners and/or representatives, should they want to collaborate on management of a valued introduced game animal herds within their property.
  • The wording ‘consistent with’ overriding considerations (which include pristine or pre-human) should be replaced with the less rigid ‘must have regard to’. This would create an appropriate amount of flexibility, given that the GAC Act is more modern than the current conservation framework.
  • More functions should be added to the GAC for advising the Minister for Hunting and Fishing on the establishment of HOSI, providing GAC with the functions of developing herd management plans, and implementing a HOSI after it has been gazetted by the Minister. This aligns with the broader legal framework and ensures that the GAC can effectively perform its duties.

To fulfil the potential of the GAC Act, HOSI should be supported by all parts of the conservation policy framework, and be enabled throughout the country, including in national parks. This would ensure:

  1. Legal and policy consistency with the original design of the GAC Act.
  2. Public support for conservation through inclusive, community-based management.
  3. Tangible social, economic, and biodiversity benefits that serve all New Zealanders.

The GAC submission was supported by expert evidence from several leading experts in game animal management and hunting in New Zealand. This evidence can be found from page 24 of the submission.

Sector views

“The GAC would like to also thank hunting sector groups and organisations for raising awareness of the Bill and submitting on behalf of their constituencies,” Jordan says.

This includes Fish & Game NZ, NZDA, Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, Sika Foundation, NZ Tahr Foundation, NZ Pig Hunting Association, NZ Professional Hunting Guides, and NZ Hunter.

Sector submissions focused on:

  • Support for the intent of the Amendment Bill – to clarify the law.
  • Support for further changes that address the wider conflicting legislation surrounding valued introduced game animal herds.
  • Support to allow HOSI designation prior to the development of herd management plans, and to provide flexibility in the development of these plans.
  • Support for the GAC to provide management leadership during implementation of HOSI.

Next steps

The GAC will be making an oral submission to the Environment Select Committee in support of its submission. Following the hearing, the Select Committee will create a report to Government with their recommendations. This report is due 30 October 2025.

Following that, the Bill will go to a second reading in Parliament, then to a Committee of the Whole House, a third reading and then Royal Assent. If passed, Royal Assent is when the Bill will become law.

“Through our submission, we sought involvement in discussions about modernising the conservation framework to ensure the interests of hunters, and the benefits they bring to the community and environment, are recognised and reflected,” Jordan says.

“We will continue to undertake our functions as outlined in the GAC Act, to raise awareness of the views of the hunting sector and directly advise the Minister for Hunting and Fishing on game animal management,” she says.

Contact

Corina Jordan, NZ Game Animal Council CEO

027 428 7772

Learn more