Let volunteers, hunters, and conservationists keep working together without fear of breaking the law

Daddy Pig
Jul 26
2 min read

Rock The Vote NZ Party Submission to the Game Animal Council (Herds of Special Interest) Amendment Bill

Submitted on the 24^th of July 2025

Submission

Rock The Vote NZ (RTVNZ) strongly supports this bill. We believe in laws that make sense and are consistent. Right now, two important Acts point in opposite directions:

The Game Animal Council Act 2013 says the Minister can set aside “herds of special interest” (HOSI) so they can be managed for hunting and conservation.
The National Parks Act 1980 says introduced animals in national parks must be wiped out “as far as possible”.

That clash means community groups working on the ground never quite know where they stand. This short bill fixes the tangle by spelling out that the wipe-out rule doesn’t apply to a herd the Minister has already recognised as valuable. Clear, tidy, and fair.

Why do we think it matters

Good people are already doing the work. The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation is a great example: volunteers spend countless hours culling excess animals, trapping pests, and keeping huts and tracks open. Hunters bring home food, tourists chase once-in-a-lifetime trophies, and native species like the Blue Duck get breathing space. Everybody wins.
Less poison on the hills. When skilled hunters hold numbers down, DOC and councils don’t have to lean so heavily on broad-brush tools such as 1080. Fewer carcasses, less collateral damage.
No loosening of conservation rules. All the usual checks stay in place, in which any herd designation still has to fit with protecting native plants, birds, and ecosystems. The bill just removes a legal tripwire; it doesn’t open the floodgates.

Safeguards and Biodiversity

We recognize fears regarding biodiversity effects. Nonetheless, HOSI status facilitates managed population control, with organizations such as the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation already working under consented herd quotas and surveillance. Legal iwi consultation ensures that local values are upheld. This model is far from subverting conservation and is, in fact, conducive to well-balanced, community-initiated outcomes.

In short

This is a small, common-sense tweak that lets volunteers, hunters, and conservationists keep working together without fear of breaking the law. We want our kids and grandkids to hear birdsong in Fiordland and know the thrill of a fair chase. This bill helps make that possible.

We urge the committee to support this bill.

Rock The Vote NZ Party