Advocacy Update: Make a Submission on the Herds of Special Interest Amendment Bill

The Latest

Update: 10th March 2026

Full summaries of submissions lodged during the public consultation process are now available on our website:

·         Draft herd management plan for proposed Fiordland wapiti Herd of Special Interest

·         Draft herd management plan for proposed sika deer Herd of Special Interest

A full record of individual submissions is also available on the same webpages, with personal details removed for privacy.

NZDA Gwyn Thurlow Made a Submission to HOSI Select Committee

Update made: 25th August 2025

Click the image below to watch.

During the presentation, Gwyn spoke about the vital role hunters play in New Zealand’s conservation efforts. He highlighted that we are the boots on the ground, and not ivory tower, inner-city, keyboard conservationists.

Following his submission, Gwyn was questioned on the use of 1080 for the eradication of game animals, whether he believed eradication of introduced species was possible, and work surrounding a possible sika deer HOSI. He also faced an inflammatory statement from Green MP Scott Willis disguised as a question that asked why hunters had not delivered better outcomes without a HOSI.

You can see Gwyn’s full response below, which included returning the question asking Willis: “What have Forest and Bird done, and what has the Government done?”

Gwyn’s presentation was a stark contrast to other presentations of the day by opponents of the bill. These representatives, such as Forest and Bird, chose to take an ideological approach, rather than one grounded in practical conservation outcomes.

Environment Committee Live Streams:

NZDA presented alongside other respected leaders from across the hunting sector, there was a united front in support of practical, hunter-led conservation.Their submissions reinforced the shared commitment to achieving better outcomes for game animals and the environment they inhabit:

• NZ Hunter - Greg Duley, Managing director
• New Zealand Tahr Foundation - Luke Care, Chairman
• Heritage Red Deer Foundation - Wille Duley, Secretary & Tyron Southward, President
• Hunters for Conservation Trust - Dame Lynda Topp, Trustee

To watch further verbal submissions, you can view them here.

NZDA Has Submitted on the Herds of Special Interest Amendment Bill

Page Update: 24th July 2025, 4:33pm

Make your own submission here now.

Read the NZDA submission here.

NZDA 77th Conference Votes “YES” to Herds of Special Interest for Wapiti and Sika, Reminder Submit on Amendment Bill

Herds of Special Interest Supported by NZDA at 77th Annual Conference

Sunday 20th July, NZDA delegates from across New Zealand assembled in Invercargill to vote in favour of motions to support wapiti and sika herds as ‘herds of special interest’ to recreational hunters.

The NZDA Annual Conference hosted by the Southland Branch in Invercargill had the theme of ‘Wapiti and Whitetail’. The debate also turned to questioning why whitetail are not on the list to be a herd of special interest, and certainly tahr should be next to be considered by Ministers, DOC and GAC.

Specifically, the Conference voted unanimously:

1. (Notice of Motion 2025/05): that the wapiti herd in Fiordland is “a herd of special interest“ and the NZDA supports such a designation under the Game Animal Council Act.
2. (Notice of Motion 2025/06): that the sika herd in Central North Island is a “herd of special interest” and the NZDA supports such a designation under the Game Animal Council Act.

At Conference, on Saturday, we heard from Minister for Hunting and Fishing, James Meager of the importance of these herds to hunters and for the need for each hunter to support the amendment bill by making a submission. He emphasised this amendment was a step toward making the dream of managed valued big game animal herds a reality.

Fiordland Wapiti Foundation’s Roy Sloan also encouraged attendees at Conference, who are usually apolitical hunters, to engage with this process and add their weight to the submissions. Roy and the FWF will be sharing more information in the coming days.

What You Can Do

Reminder: Submissions are now open and close at 11.59pm on Thursday, 24 July 2025. You have four days left to have a say. Scroll down further to read some tips and hit the link to make an online submission. Short on time? Just say you support the bill, as a hunter, then that's enough.

We need all hunters to say "yes" to hunter-led management of our big game and their habitat.Read below for more information submitting.

Make a Submission Here

Important Links

• Read the Bill here.
• Make a submission here.
• Read the first reading Hansard here.

The Core of Your Submission Should Include:

1. Support for the Bill
   Say clearly that you support the amendment and the Bill’s intent to implement Herds of Special Interest (HOSI), and you support making the amendments to ensure herds in National Parks are not subject to statutory extermination obligations, which conflicts with their management as a HOSI.
2. Importance of Game Animals in National Parks
   Note that many potential ‘special herds’, like sika, wapiti, tahr and whitetail, are located in National Parks.
3. Benefits of HOSI to Hunting and Conservation
   HOSI can deliver better recreational hunting through quality-focused herd management and better conservation outcomes through low animal densities, habitat protection, and native species preservation.
4. Suggest Legislative Improvement
   Suggest you think the amendments do not go far enough to achieve the purpose statement and explanatory notes to the bill. Suggest the Select Committee considers to fixing the conflicts of laws and overriding considerations, which may be ambiguous and open to legal action and court cases by the likes of Forest & Bird who seek to undermine the management of valued big game animals:

• • Exempt HOSI from the National Parks Act extermination policy, by amending the National Parks Act too.
  • Amend section 19(4) of the GAC Act to give flexibility in herd planning.
  • Allow HOSI to be gazetted before herd management plans are approved.

Make a Submission Here

Watch a video summary from NZ Hunter Willie Duley

Hunting advocate, Willie Duley, posted an informative video explaining his concerns with the bill. Willie gives a great summary and we encourage you to watch this clip, if you want more information and ideas to support your submission.

Make a Submission Here

Join and Support NZDA

Find and join a branch to get involved with promoting and protecting hunting in New Zealand! Search here.

https://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/join-and-support-us/branch-finder/