Wildlife Act 1953

Wildlife Act 1953
New Zealand Parliament
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the protection and control of wild animals and birds, the regulation of game shooting seasons, and the constitution and powers of acclimatisation societies
Status: Current legislation

Wildlife Act 1953 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand.

Under the act, the majority of native New Zealand vertebrate species are protected by law, and may not be hunted, killed, eaten or possessed. Violations may be punished with fines of up to $100,000.

Wildlife are classified under a number of schedules; all vertebrate species not included in these lists are protected by default. The schedules are periodically amended; for example the kea was granted full protection in 1984, whereas the spur-winged plover (masked lapwing), an Australian species which naturally established itself in New Zealand in the 1930s, had its protected status removed in 2012.

Schedules

Schedule 1 - Wildlife declared to be game

This group comprises commonly hunted waterfowl (mallard, grey duck, Australasian shoveler, paradise shelduck, black swan and pukeko) and introduced game birds, including pheasant, quail, chukar and partridge. These birds may be hunted during the open season, which begins in early May and lasts approximately four weeks.

Schedule 2 - Partially protected wildlife

This group comprises just the little owl, the silvereye and, on the Chatham Islands only, the brown skua (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi). It formerly included the kea, which has been blamed for attacking sheep, but is now considered endangered. These birds may be shot by land owners if they pose a threat to crops or livestock, without any need for a permit from the Department of Conversation.

Schedule 3 - Wildlife that may be hunted or killed subject to Minister's notification

These may be culled on application to the Department of Conservation, subject to whatever restrictions are imposed. This group includes the Australasian harrier, grey teal, grey-faced petrel, mute swan, black shag, little shag, pied shag and sooty shearwater.

Schedule 4 - Wildlife not protected, except in areas and during periods specified in Minister's notification

This group formerly consisted of wild horses, which had some degree of protection in the Kaimanawa range, but is now obsolete.

Schedule 5 - Wildlife not protected

This is a large group including many common domestic and introduced species, many of which are regarded as pests. It includes numerous land mammals and birds, three species of Australian Litoria tree frogs, the Australian rainbow skink (Lampropholis delicata) and the North American red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans). The only species on this list that occur naturally in New Zealand are the southern black-backed gull and the spur-winged plover (masked lapwing), both of which present a significant risk of bird strike.

Schedule 6 - Animals declared to be noxious animals subject to the Noxious Animals Act 1956

This group consists of the chamois, the Himalayan tahr, and all species of deer (the Cervidae family), goats (the Capra genus), and pigs (the Sus genus). All are considered harmful to New Zealand's native forests and may be hunted without restriction.

Schedule 7 - Terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates declared to be animals

Under the original legislation, the word "animal" referred only to land-based vertebrates. Schedule 7 was added to give protected status to a number of native invertebrates, some of them endangered, including some species of native grasshopper, weevil, weta, two species of katipo spider and powelliphanta snails.

Schedule 7A - Marine species declared to be animals

Similarly, this list gives protected status to a number of marine species, including several species of coral, several sharks and a few fish species.

See also

• Conservation in New Zealand

External links

• Text of the Wildlife Act 1953