OIA26-0144
22 May 2026
Hayden
[FYI request #33881 email]
Dear Hayden,
Thank you for your email of 2 March 2026 requesting information relating to wild game meat.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
On 27 March 2026, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) extended the time limit to
respond to your request to 29 April 2026.
You requested the following:
MPI's current legal position on whether a person who takes a wild deer, pig, goat,
tahr, or chamois during recreational hunting may lawfully sell the meat to a
consumer, and the specific legislative provisions that govern this.
The requirements for homekil and recreational catch service providers are published on the
MPI website at
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-business/meat-game-processing-
requirements/homekil -hunting-game-and-wild-meat-requirements/homekil -and-recreational-
catch-requirements-for-hunters-fishers-and-animal-owners. Homekil and recreational catch product for human or animal consumption must not be sold
or traded. Homekil and recreational catch are covered under Parts 6 and 10 of the Animal
Products Act 1999, which can be found at
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1999/93/en/latest/#DLM33502.
Any assessment or analysis of the food safety risks specifically associated with field-
dressed and butchered wild game meat, as distinct from the food safety risks of
commercially processed meat.
Any assessment of whether the current prohibition on private sale of recreational y
hunted wild game meat is justified by actual food safety evidence, or whether it is a
legacy regulatory position that has not been reassessed.
Homekil and recreational catch product (such as meat) is considered unregulated and
therefore must not be sold or traded. This is because the product has not been subject to
any:
• hygiene or processing standards or controls, or
• assessment, such as ante-mortem or post-mortem inspection.
For these reasons, no assurances can be given on its fitness for consumption, and people
who use or consume it do so at their own risk.
Ministry for Primary Industries
Charles Fergusson Building
38-42 Bowen Street
PO Box 2526
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
mpi.govt.nz
Any analysis of the pest control co-benefits that could arise from enabling the
commercial sale of recreational y hunted pest animal meat — specifically, whether
enabling an economic return on wild deer and pigs would reduce the cost of pest
control to the Crown and regional councils.
We have not undertaken such analysis because recreationally hunted meat is unable to be
sold commercial y. Because of this, this part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of
the OIA –
that the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist.
The annual cost to the Crown (DOC, regional councils, OSPRI) of pest animal
control for deer, pigs, goats, tahr, chamois, wallaby, and possums, for each of the
past 5 financial years.
MPI provides $24 mil ion funding to OSPRI annual y for the TBFree programme. A significant
portion of this goes to vector (mainly possum) control.
The National Wallaby Eradication Programme began in 2020 and aims to stop the spread of
wallabies with a long-term goal of eradication. The programme is a partnership of Biosecurity New
Zealand (BNZ), Federated Farmers, iwi and regional councils in wal aby-affected areas, the
Department of Conservation, Forest & Bird, and Land Information New Zealand. You can read more
about the programme here
Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme. Jobs for Nature funding for wallaby control was for the four-year period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2024
only. The Jobs for Nature funding and council contributions for national wallaby control operations
for the duration of the programme are as follows:
Jobs for Nature Funding and Council Contributions 1 July 2020 – 30 June 2024
Jobs for Nature
Council
Actual
Total Funding
Approved Funding
contribution
Expenditure
Waikato
$ 1,646,956
$ 1,900,000
$ 3,456,956
$3,340,981
Bay of
$ 4,498,869
$ 848,000
$ 5,346,869
$5,342,936
Plenty
Canterbury
$9,242,021
$ 320,000
$ 9,562,021
$9,518,825
Otago
$ 4,094,392
$ 205,000
$ 4,299,392
$4,223,815
Total
$19,482,238
$3,273,000
$22,755,238
$22,426,557
MPI has ongoing baseline funding of $6.9 mil ion per year for wallaby control.
The number of recreational catch service providers currently licensed under Part 5B
of the Animal Products Act 1999, and the volume of wild game meat processed
through these providers annually.
A public register of listed homekil and recreational catch service providers can be found at
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-business/meat-game-processing-requirements/meat-industry-
registers-and-lists. MPI does not hold information on the volume of wild game meat processed. This part of your
request is refused under section 18(e) of the OIA –
that the document alleged to contain the
information requested does not exist.
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Any submissions, correspondence, or briefings received by MPI from the Game
Animal Council regarding the commercialisation or sale of recreationally hunted wild
game meat.
MPI does not hold any submissions from the Game Animal Council on these topics. This part
of your request is therefore refused under section 18(e) of the OIA –
that the document
alleged to contain the information requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to
locate it, cannot be found. Note that the Game Animal Council is subject to the OIA, so you
can request information from them directly.
Should you have any concerns with this response, I would encourage you to raise these with
the Ministry for Primary Industries at
[email address]. Alternatively, you
are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143 or at
[email address]. Yours sincerely,
John Walsh
Director Pest Management
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