Thread: Advocacy Alert: MPI's New Deer & Pig Programme

Copied and pasted from email received from NZDA today. Interesting.


Advocacy Alert:
MPI's New Deer & Pig Programme Announced
A Concerning Development for New Zealand Hunters

Dear

All hunters must know what was launched on Rural News in an article on 3 December announcing a new Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) initiative targeting “feral deer and pigs.” The way this initiative has emerged - through media interviews rather than official communication - signals a major shift in government approach to game animals. It is a development every hunter should be aware of.

MPI has been meeting with DOC, Forest & Bird, Federated Farmers, and Beef + Lamb to discuss “reducing impacts” of deer and pigs on forests, farms, and carbon plantings. These meetings appear to have been going on without the involvement of NZDA or the statutory body representing game animals, Game Animal Council (GAC). We have also confirmed today that the Minister for Hunting and Fishing himself was not briefed prior to the media story.

This is not routine policy work. This is a coordinated programme targeting deer, developed behind closed doors, with no input from hunters, and promoted to the public as a consensus “industry-wide” effort. It is, in effect, the beginning of a national push to significantly reduce or eradicate deer and pigs - without the organisations responsible for managing these species being at the table.
Have MPI just launched a war on our deer?

According to Rural News, MPI is leading an effort to address “rising populations” of deer and pigs. The article quotes MPI officials estimating that New Zealand has 1.3 to 1.8 million deer and claims the population is increasing by “about 200,000 animals a year.”

The article states that MPI has formed a collaborative group with:
DOC
Federated Farmers
Forest & Bird
Beef + Lamb NZ
“others” (not specified) – but not NZDA nor GAC

This group is reportedly working on “region-by-region” programmes to tackle deer and pigs.

Notably absent from the article - and from the process – are NZDA, GAC, commercial and professional hunters and recreational hunters. The omission is glaring and deliberate.

Why NZDA Is Alarmed

1. Hunters were excluded from a national deer programme
Hunters collectively harvest more deer and goats in New Zealand than any official control measure – thousands of deer and goats annually, at no cost to the taxpayer. We deliver and are a key impacted stakeholder, but despite this, MPI has:
failed to notify NZDA
excluded the statutory Game Animal Council
omitted every hunting sector stakeholder
briefed and included lobby groups who advocate for deer eradication
bypassed the Minister

This is a complete breakdown of process and sector engagement.

2. Forest & Bird has publicly endorsed the programme as a long-awaited crackdown in a social media post
Forest & Bird quickly posted a celebratory statement repeating MPI’s population numbers and thanking MPI, DOC, Federated Farmers, and Beef + Lamb for “tackling the challenge.” Their framing is overtly ideological and supports an eradication-driven approach to deer. See the post here.

3. The conversation has included unacceptable tools such as poisoning
There have been sector whispers and commentary suggesting extreme measures may be considered, including the use of brodifacoum or other toxins against deer or pigs directly.

NZDA’s position is unequivocal:
Poisoning deer is unethical, unsafe, unlawful, and unacceptable.
Brodifacoum bioaccumulates in ecosystems and animals
It threatens dogs, wildlife, hunters, and waterways
It violates humane harvesting standards
It has no place in game animal management

If poison is even on the table, hunters must treat this seriously.

4. This looks like a coordinated push to re-define deer as pests alone
The language used - “feral,” “pest,” “pressure on forests” - and the absence of any reference to game animal values, sustainable hunting, or herd management is deeply concerning.

This initiative reframes deer and pigs purely as pests to be reduced or eliminated.

For hunters, this is effectively: A declaration of war on deer and on the future of hunting.

You can read the full article here.

NZDA will not accept:
being excluded from national game animal decisions
eradication ideology being disguised as “science”
poisoning of deer
closed-door policymaking
the sidelining of GAC
public narratives that misrepresent hunters’ actual contribution

Hunters are not the problem. Hunters are the solution.

What You Can Do Right Now
Share this alert with your friends and clubs. Hunters must know what is happening.
Follow NZDA updates closely. We will act quickly and decisively.
Encourage hunters to join NZDA. The bigger our membership, the stronger our voice. This moment proves why NZDA matters.
Be ready to engage respectfully and firmly. We will coordinate messages to MPs, media, and officials.
Support our advocacy by showing unity. Hunters standing together is our strongest asset.

A Turning Point for New Zealand Hunting
What has emerged in this article is not acceptable policy. It is the outline of a national anti-deer framework built without us. NZDA will respond strongly, constructively, and decisively.

Hunters deserve representation. Game animals deserve respect and balanced management. New Zealand deserves better policy than this.

What is NZDA doing?
NZDA has let the Minister know we have been blindsided by this announcement by MPI. NZDA hopes that Minister Meager takes immediate action.

We ask the Minister to:
Pause MPI’s initiative until proper consultation occurs. The Minister himself was not briefed, and it is essential that NZDA, the statutory Game Animal Council, and the wider hunting sector are formally included before any further work proceeds.
Direct MPI to include NZDA and GAC as core partners in any national deer or pig programme. Hunters deliver the bulk of on-the-ground management and must be represented at the decision-making table.
Require MPI to release the full scope, scientific assumptions, data, modelling, and meeting records behind this initiative. Transparency is essential, and the sector deserves to understand what has been planned behind closed doors.
Publicly rule out any use of toxins, including brodifacoum, for deer or pig control. Poisoning deer is unethical, unsafe, and unlawful. It has no place in game animal management.

More updates will follow shortly.



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Copyright (C) 2025 New Zealand Deerstalkers Association. All rights reserved.
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Typical NZ. Exclude any rational and constructive debate.

The propaganda hit pieces against "illegal" hunting of the past few months make a lot more sense now.

James Meager posted this on his fb page.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR THE HUNTING COMMUNITY PLEASE SHARE ⬇️⬇️
A few things to clarify from this article in Rural News this week (https://www.mpi.govt.nz/.../safe.../...n-wild-animals) and some of the anti-hunter sentiment that has since been generated online.
1. Both Minister Hoggard (MPI) and I (Hunting and Fishing) have directed MPI to involve the NZ Game Animal Council, New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc and the community foundations (like Fiordland Wapiti Foundation and Sika Foundation) in this programme. Hunters know high deer numbers can result in poor hunting outcomes (skinny deer, poor quality trophies) and we all agree that sustainable animal management is the way to go.
2. A cross industry approach is needed, with landowners, farmers, foresters, hunters and agencies all working together to tackle the "cross-tenure" problem of managing wild animals across a range of private forests, farms and conservation land. I know NZDA are ready to go to support farmers with Landowner Assist and Farmer Assist programmes, providing landowners with access to responsible and skilled hunters to help manage deer and goats. For the hunters it means more and new opportunities to pursue their sport. For farmers NZDA provides comprehensive liability insurance coverage for full branch members while they are on a landowner's property, as well as assurances these aren't cowboys operating on their land. My office is also talking with Fed Farmers about how to align everyone on this. The key is access.
3. A previous version of the article (since corrected) suggested the use of poisons to control game animals. We do not support targeting game animals with poison, particularly brodi which can accumulate in an animal and taint the meat. Poisons are an effective tool for possums and rodents when used well, and we recognise there will sometimes be by-catch, but tools and management practices can limit this (such as deer repellent and timing).
4. Successive governments have recognised the concept of "valued introduced species", including deer, tahr, sports fish and game birds, which provide recreational, economic, environmental or
cultural benefits to society. The previous government enshrined this concept in the 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, and we are going to continue to build on this concept as we promised during the 2023 campaign (see https://www.doc.govt.nz/.../biodiversity/anzbs-2020.pdf).
KEY MESSAGE
The Government is committed to hunter-led conservation as a key tool in managing wild animals and our valued introduced species. Hunters spend their lives in the outdoors and cherish our natural environment just as much as diehard urbanists. We want to better utilise hunters and the work they do on the ground in our wild animal management system, and will continue to make improvements (such as the Public Access Charter and the Herds of Special Interest initiatives) to do this.

absolute bunch of gutless wonders slithering about covertly -illbet certain polis will be on the verge of orgasmuninteruptus at this news !time for nicole and a few others to start booting asrses into touch.

Originally Posted by woods223

Copied and pasted from email received from NZDA today. Interesting.


Advocacy Alert:
MPI's New Deer & Pig Programme Announced
A Concerning Development for New Zealand Hunters

Dear

All hunters must know what was launched on Rural News in an article on 3 December announcing a new Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) initiative targeting “feral deer and pigs.” The way this initiative has emerged - through media interviews rather than official communication - signals a major shift in government approach to game animals. It is a development every hunter should be aware of.

MPI has been meeting with DOC, Forest & Bird, Federated Farmers, and Beef + Lamb to discuss “reducing impacts” of deer and pigs on forests, farms, and carbon plantings. These meetings appear to have been going on without the involvement of NZDA or the statutory body representing game animals, Game Animal Council (GAC). We have also confirmed today that the Minister for Hunting and Fishing himself was not briefed prior to the media story.

This is not routine policy work. This is a coordinated programme targeting deer, developed behind closed doors, with no input from hunters, and promoted to the public as a consensus “industry-wide” effort. It is, in effect, the beginning of a national push to significantly reduce or eradicate deer and pigs - without the organisations responsible for managing these species being at the table.
Have MPI just launched a war on our deer?

According to Rural News, MPI is leading an effort to address “rising populations” of deer and pigs. The article quotes MPI officials estimating that New Zealand has 1.3 to 1.8 million deer and claims the population is increasing by “about 200,000 animals a year.”

The article states that MPI has formed a collaborative group with:
DOC
Federated Farmers
Forest & Bird
Beef + Lamb NZ
“others” (not specified) – but not NZDA nor GAC

This group is reportedly working on “region-by-region” programmes to tackle deer and pigs.

Notably absent from the article - and from the process – are NZDA, GAC, commercial and professional hunters and recreational hunters. The omission is glaring and deliberate.

Why NZDA Is Alarmed

1. Hunters were excluded from a national deer programme
Hunters collectively harvest more deer and goats in New Zealand than any official control measure – thousands of deer and goats annually, at no cost to the taxpayer. We deliver and are a key impacted stakeholder, but despite this, MPI has:
failed to notify NZDA
excluded the statutory Game Animal Council
omitted every hunting sector stakeholder
briefed and included lobby groups who advocate for deer eradication
bypassed the Minister

This is a complete breakdown of process and sector engagement.

2. Forest & Bird has publicly endorsed the programme as a long-awaited crackdown in a social media post
Forest & Bird quickly posted a celebratory statement repeating MPI’s population numbers and thanking MPI, DOC, Federated Farmers, and Beef + Lamb for “tackling the challenge.” Their framing is overtly ideological and supports an eradication-driven approach to deer. See the post here.

3. The conversation has included unacceptable tools such as poisoning
There have been sector whispers and commentary suggesting extreme measures may be considered, including the use of brodifacoum or other toxins against deer or pigs directly.

NZDA’s position is unequivocal:
Poisoning deer is unethical, unsafe, unlawful, and unacceptable.
Brodifacoum bioaccumulates in ecosystems and animals
It threatens dogs, wildlife, hunters, and waterways
It violates humane harvesting standards
It has no place in game animal management

If poison is even on the table, hunters must treat this seriously.

4. This looks like a coordinated push to re-define deer as pests alone
The language used - “feral,” “pest,” “pressure on forests” - and the absence of any reference to game animal values, sustainable hunting, or herd management is deeply concerning.

This initiative reframes deer and pigs purely as pests to be reduced or eliminated.

For hunters, this is effectively: A declaration of war on deer and on the future of hunting.

You can read the full article here.

NZDA will not accept:
being excluded from national game animal decisions
eradication ideology being disguised as “science”
poisoning of deer
closed-door policymaking
the sidelining of GAC
public narratives that misrepresent hunters’ actual contribution

Hunters are not the problem. Hunters are the solution.

What You Can Do Right Now
Share this alert with your friends and clubs. Hunters must know what is happening.
Follow NZDA updates closely. We will act quickly and decisively.
Encourage hunters to join NZDA. The bigger our membership, the stronger our voice. This moment proves why NZDA matters.
Be ready to engage respectfully and firmly. We will coordinate messages to MPs, media, and officials.
Support our advocacy by showing unity. Hunters standing together is our strongest asset.

A Turning Point for New Zealand Hunting
What has emerged in this article is not acceptable policy. It is the outline of a national anti-deer framework built without us. NZDA will respond strongly, constructively, and decisively.

Hunters deserve representation. Game animals deserve respect and balanced management. New Zealand deserves better policy than this.

What is NZDA doing?
NZDA has let the Minister know we have been blindsided by this announcement by MPI. NZDA hopes that Minister Meager takes immediate action.

We ask the Minister to:
Pause MPI’s initiative until proper consultation occurs. The Minister himself was not briefed, and it is essential that NZDA, the statutory Game Animal Council, and the wider hunting sector are formally included before any further work proceeds.
Direct MPI to include NZDA and GAC as core partners in any national deer or pig programme. Hunters deliver the bulk of on-the-ground management and must be represented at the decision-making table.
Require MPI to release the full scope, scientific assumptions, data, modelling, and meeting records behind this initiative. Transparency is essential, and the sector deserves to understand what has been planned behind closed doors.
Publicly rule out any use of toxins, including brodifacoum, for deer or pig control. Poisoning deer is unethical, unsafe, and unlawful. It has no place in game animal management.

More updates will follow shortly.



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Logo
Copyright (C) 2025 New Zealand Deerstalkers Association. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in as an NZDA member.

Our mailing address is:
New Zealand Deerstalkers Association 3 Collina Terrace New Zealand Deerstalker Association Wellington, Wellington 6011 New Zealand

I looked for this on the NZDA website and couldn't find it. Nor has it arrived in my inbox.

The link to the original article in your post is not active.

Can you please post a link to the original article. Thanks.

There is no link. This was sent by NZDA to its members.

Originally Posted by STC

There is no link. This was sent by NZDA to its members.

In the text you quoted it says:
"You can read the full article here." But there is no link embeded. There probably is in the email you received.

Why I am interested is I.am a longtime NZDA member and have not received the email.

Originally Posted by Jhon

In the text you quoted it says:
"You can read the full article here." But there is no link embeded. There probably is in the email you received.

Why I am interested is I.am a longtime NZDA member and have not received the email.

https://portal.deerstalkers.org.nz/d...25c/default/?&

Check your spam folder or make sure your email address is correct with them..

Thanks StrikerNZ, saved me from posting details. Every hunter should be keeping tabs on this subject.

I think most of us have no real idea of the actual numbers of pigs that are out there. I've been fortunate to go pig culling with someone that has a thermal drone a couple times and it is mind blowing how many pigs are out there. One farmer didn't think we'd find many as his son had been hunting and the farm had been hunted with the drone etc the year before and we saw over 30 pigs. Another farm we went to, the owner knows there are pigs there and it gets hunted regularly, we spotted more than 60. It's mind blowing what goes on in the dark when you can see it.

Yep, many hunters and public in general have no idea what’s out there. Those of us who are hunting on a weekly basis have a better idea on numbers but even we get surprised at times. At lambing time pigs just keep turning up, get anything up to 12 pigs/night multiple times per season on some farms. Similar with deer coming into vineyards and feeding during growing season, they travel quite some distance for easy tucker.

Yeah very nice that you see plenty of pigs at night. And even nicer the landowner had given you permission to shoot them.

Hunting at night with thermals/night vision is illegal on public land.

Playing devils advocate, if hunters are the solution, then how have we managed to get here? (This is kind of rhetorical).
Access.
Funding for sensible deer management on public land.
Harboring of deer by some private land owners.

Whatever the combination of reasons, something(s) will have to change and real soon I reckon. For reference just go back over the recent thread on deer numbers CNI...

Correct.

access is the big one. And now farmers are playing the victims

Non existent maintenance on tracks is another one.

Originally Posted by STC

Hunting at night with thermals/night vision is illegal on public land.

That may change to some degree - if suitable conditions and controls can be put in place.