Oct 10, 2025
DINZ is Helping Tackle Pest Pressure Across New Zealand
Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) is a member of the Wild Animals Management National Coordination Group, a high-level forum to bring together diverse interests to manage wild deer, goats, pigs, tahr, and chamois for control, use, and recreational hunting.
Who’s Involved?
This group includes representatives from government agencies: Director-General of Conservation (via the Director responsible for wild animals), Ministry for Primary Industries, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), New Zealand Conservation Authority, and the Game Animal Council. Also, Environmental NGOs, Industry groups, Science and research representatives: Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research and NIWA – Earth Sciences NZ, the Hunting sector, Te Tiriti partners and a few Regional council representatives.
Update to workplans
Luka Jansen, representing DINZ, has attended quarterly meetings for the past two years. Recently, members of the group have been asked to submit feedback to DOC on the group’s revised workplan and Terms of Reference. Luka notes “This group is incredibly valuable—it brings together the right people to tackle a complex issue. But we still lack a truly coordinated national strategy for pest control. Too many organisations are working in silos, and that fragmentation is holding us back. If we want to protect both our environment and our agricultural sector, we must align our efforts and work together more effectively.”
Also, DINZ’s feedback emphasised the need for a greater focus on the risks wild animals pose to agriculture. A clearer reflection of the Crown’s statutory responsibility to protect both the environment and the economy is needed within the group’s terms of reference.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday in Wellington, where feedback on the workplan will be discussed.
DINZ’s Broader Role in Pest Management
DINZ is also actively involved in the TB Plan Review Governance Group, which targets possum hotspots to eliminate TB in livestock—including deer—by 2040. The TB free programme, supported by a $60 million annual budget (60% funded by farmer levies, including deer farmers, and 40% by the Crown), reflects the shared responsibility in biosecurity and disease management.
Current Nationwide Initiative
The 2025 National Wild Goat Hunting Competition is currently underway and runs until 26 November. Wild goats are a serious threat to both agriculture and conservation. This nationwide initiative, led by DOC and the NZDA, is a practical and rewarding way to reduce wild goat numbers.
With over $70,000 in prizes up for grabs—including gear from Hunting & Fishing NZ, Bushnell, and NZ Hunter—there’s never been a better time to get involved.
About the Competition
There are multiple ways to participate:
- Hunters: Submit wild goat tails or heads to enter prize draws.
- Landowners: Register to be matched with vetted NZDA hunters and be in to win over $3,200 in prizes.
Categories include: “Got Your Goat”, “Great Goat Round Up”, “G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time)” and Junior divisions. Visit www.doc.govt.nz/wild-goat-hunting-competition for full entry details.
Participating in this competition is about protecting both farmland and the environment. By joining forces through initiatives like this and supporting coordinated pest control strategies, we can control pests more efficiently and effectively across New Zealand.
Feedback for DINZ
If you’re involved in a pest control initiative in your area, Luka would love to hear about it. She’s also happy to raise any local/regional issues deer farmers are facing at the upcoming group meeting next Thursday in Wellington.
Get in touch: luka.jansen@deernz.org
We’d love to see your photos too! Here’s one of Luka’s family—her father, two children, and husband—out on the weekend doing their bit for sustainable land management and pest control, removing 53 wild animals from a farm in the central North Island.
