Pest Animal Control Costs
Hayden made this Official Information request to Department of Conservation
Currently waiting for a response from Department of Conservation, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: Hayden
Dear Department of Conservation,
Under the Official Information Act, I request:
The annual cost to DOC of pest animal control for each of the following species, for each of the past 5 financial years: deer, pigs, goats, tahr, chamois, wallaby, and possums.
DOC's estimate of the number of pest animals (by species) removed by recreational hunters annually, and any assessment of the monetary value of this pest control contribution.
Any analysis by DOC of whether enabling the commercial sale of recreationally hunted pest animal meat would increase recreational hunting effort and thereby reduce pest animal populations.
Any analysis of whether the current prohibition on private sale of recreationally hunted wild game meat acts as a disincentive to recreational hunting effort.
Any correspondence, submissions, or briefings between DOC and MPI regarding the commercialisation or regulated sale of recreationally hunted wild game meat.
Any assessment by DOC of the TB risk from wild deer and wild pigs, by region — specifically, whether the TB-free status of Southland's wild deer population supports a differentiated regulatory approach to wild game meat sale.
Recreational hunters remove significant numbers of pest animals annually at no cost to the Crown. Enabling a regulated pathway for local sale of pest animal meat would increase the economic incentive for hunting, potentially reducing the Crown's direct pest control expenditure. I am establishing whether DOC has assessed this co-benefit.
If any information is to be withheld, please specify the grounds under the OIA for each withheld item.
Yours faithfully,
Hayden
From: do-not-reply
Department of Conservation
Kia ora Hayden,
Thank you for your official information request to the Department of
Conservation, received on 02/03/2026.
Your reference number is OIAD-6150.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and no
later than 30/03/2026, being 20 working days after the day your request
was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If you have any queries email us at [1][email address].
Ngā mihi
Government Services
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
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From: OIATeam
Department of Conservation
Kia ora Hayden,
In regard to your request, for points 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 could you please
clarify the timeframe applicable? I note, for example, that in the first
part of your request you have specified the past five financial years. Did
you intend this timeframe to apply to all parts of your request? Your
clarification of this element of your request would be appreciated.
In addition, some of the work that you are requesting information about is
not undertaken by DOC as a lead agency. For instance, DOC only has a
support role as a partner agency in wallaby control, and does not
undertake control operations ourselves. Could you please let us know
whether you would like us to transfer your requests partially where this
is the case. I note that you have made a similar request to MPI so I
appreciate that you may be wanting answers solely on what work DOC does or
does not do. If this is your preferred approach, please confirm this is
the case and we will not undertake that transfer.
Kind regards and have a good weekend,
Dan
OIA Support Team
Governance and Government Services
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
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of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai
Caution - This message and accompanying data may contain information that
is confidential or subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or
copying of this message or data is prohibited. If you received this email
in error, please notify us immediately and erase all copies of the message
and attachments. We apologise for the inconvenience. Thank you.
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