Wildlife Act 1953

The Wildlife Act 1953 is a principal New Zealand law for protecting wildlife and regulating game. It covers wildlife protection, game seasons, game licences, wildlife sanctuaries, wildlife refuges, wildlife management reserves, enforcement powers, offences and infringement offences.

For business owners, the key point is that the Act is broader than deliberate hunting. It can apply where a business takes, traps, captures, pursues, disturbs or molests wildlife, receives wildlife that was unlawfully obtained, transports wildlife, operates in protected wildlife areas, or relies on an authority to carry out an activity that affects wildlife.

The Act also defines hunt or kill broadly in relation to wildlife. It includes hunting, killing, taking, trapping or capturing by any means. It also includes pursuing, disturbing or molesting wildlife, using a firearm, dog or similar method, attempts, and assisting another person.

The Act can affect any business whose activities touch wildlife, wildlife habitat, game, or protected wildlife areas. It is especially relevant for businesses working outdoors, moving animals or specimens, or offering hunting or wildlife experiences.

The definition of animal in the Act is broad. It includes mammals other than domestic animals, rabbits, hares, seals and other marine mammals. It also includes birds, reptiles and amphibians, declared terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates, declared marine species, and the dead body or any part of the dead body of an animal.

That means the Act can apply not only to live wildlife, but also to carcasses, parts, eggs, feathers and preserved items, depending on the exact rule being considered.

The Act does not treat all wildlife the same way. Its schedules sort wildlife into categories, and those categories drive what a business can and cannot do.

The Act states that wildlife is protected, then creates exceptions and special categories. Some wildlife is declared to be game. Some is partially protected. Some may be hunted subject to conditions imposed by the Minister. Some is not protected. There are also schedules dealing with wild animals, declared invertebrates, declared marine species, and certain unprotected animals that may be kept, bred or farmed in captivity under regulations or by Minister’s direction.

Because the schedules can change, businesses should not rely on habit, old field guides or supplier claims. The current classification matters.

Most business risk under this Act starts with ordinary operations rather than obvious poaching. A tour route, a transport job, a hosted hunting day or a specimen purchase can all raise issues.

One major trigger point is interference with wildlife. Because the Act’s definition of hunt or kill includes pursuing, disturbing or molesting wildlife, a business can create risk even where no animal is physically taken.

Another trigger point is dealing with wildlife after the fact. The Act makes it an offence to receive wildlife without lawful authority if the person knows the wildlife was obtained without authority.

Location also matters. The Act contains separate rules for wildlife sanctuaries, wildlife refuges and wildlife management reserves, and it allows concessions in those areas.

Part 2 of the Act deals with game. It covers open season for game, notifications about conditions for open season, hunting or killing in game areas, restrictions on taking game, licences to hunt or kill game, and land access.

If your business hosts or organises game hunting, you should not assume that private land is enough. The Act includes a specific rule that the holder of a game licence must not enter on land to hunt or kill game without the consent of the occupier.

The Act also prohibits the sale of game and the sale of shooting rights. Businesses should review event structures, advertising and payment models carefully if money is being made from hosted game shooting.

The Act creates a framework for wildlife sanctuaries, wildlife refuges and wildlife management reserves. These places have their own controls and can create extra compliance steps for businesses operating there or seeking access rights.

All wildlife in sanctuaries is absolutely protected. The Act also includes offences relating to wildlife sanctuaries and separate infringement offences relating to wildlife refuges.

For some activities in sanctuaries, refuges and wildlife management reserves, the Act provides for concessions. A concession can take the form of a lease, licence, permit or easement granted under section 14AA.

If your business operates in one of these areas, check both the general wildlife rules and the site-specific access or concession settings before starting work.

The Act recognises that some activities affecting wildlife may be authorised. The Director-General may authorise taking or killing of wildlife for certain purposes under section 53. The Act also allows an authority under section 53 to kill wildlife incidentally, and it provides for conditions on that kind of authority.

Section 54 separately allows the Director-General to authorise hunting or killing of wildlife causing damage.

For businesses, this means you should not assume that an operational need creates an automatic right to act. If your project may require taking, killing or incidentally killing wildlife, check whether a formal authority is needed and what conditions attach to it.

The Act includes offences in relation to transport of wildlife and restrictions on liberation or export of animals, birds and related items. It also creates an infringement offence for transporting wildlife without proper information on the container.

Businesses that move wildlife, specimens or related items should treat transport as a regulated step, not just a logistics task. Packaging, labelling and supporting paperwork may matter.

The Act also makes it an offence to receive wildlife without lawful authority if the person knows the wildlife was obtained without authority. That makes supplier checks important for retailers, collectors, museums and any business acquiring wildlife items.

The Act also contains a specific provision about keeping specimens in museums. If your organisation keeps specimens, check the exact basis on which they are held and any related permissions or conditions.

The Act includes a specific offence provision on reporting accidental or incidental death or injury. It also includes an infringement offence for failure to report accidental or incidental death or injury.

This matters for contractors, tourism operators, transport businesses and others whose work may unintentionally affect wildlife. If an incident happens, the business should not treat it as a purely internal health and safety matter. The wildlife reporting position also needs to be checked.

Where a business holds an authority, reporting conditions may also be built into that authority. Those conditions should be followed exactly.

The Act gives rangers and other authorised people significant enforcement powers. These include powers of rangers, power to seize evidential material, powers to require people to stop and to stop things or articles in transit, power to intervene to prevent offending, and in some cases powers of arrest.

The Act also makes it an offence to obstruct persons acting under the Act. If a person is found offending, an authorised person may require that person to desist. Wilfully continuing after being required to desist is a further offence.

Staff should know how to respond calmly and accurately if approached during fieldwork, transport or a hunting event.

The Act expressly deals with liability of directors and managers. If a body corporate is convicted of an offence, every director and every person concerned in management is guilty of the same offence if the prosecution proves either that the offending happened with that person’s authority, permission or consent, or that the person knew or could reasonably be expected to have known the offence was to be or was being committed and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop it.

For business owners, this makes governance practical rather than theoretical. Policies, training, supervision and records can matter if the company’s conduct is later examined.

This Act is detailed and highly operational. The answer often turns on the exact species, the exact place, the exact activity and whether a current schedule entry, regulation, notification, authority or concession applies.

Before making a business decision, check the current Act, the relevant schedules, any current open season conditions for game, any authority or concession document, and any related conservation settings for the site. Do not rely on broad assumptions such as all birds are treated the same, all specimens can be traded, or all private land hunting is allowed if the owner agrees.

If your business model depends on wildlife interaction, build these checks into your normal planning process rather than leaving them to frontline staff on the day.