Game Animals

Small Game:     
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• Rabbits - Found throughout New Zealand, mainly found out at dawn or dusk. Best hunted with a rimfire rifle, shotgun or a bow. Suitable for eating.
• Hares - Found throughout New Zealand, usually found out on paddocks with plenty of grass. Best  hunted with a rimfire rifle, shotgun or a bow. Suitable for eating but the meat can be quite strong in flavour
• Possums - Nocturnal but live in all parts of New Zealand – even in the cities. Best hunted with a rimfire or shotgun using a spotlight, or they can be trapped. Caution: when using a spotlight possums cannot be hunted at night on public/DOC land. The fur from possums can be plucked immediately and sold for approximately $100-$120 per kg.

Pests - DO NOT MOVE

• Dama Wallaby (North Island) - generally found in the central North Island.  They are about the size of a large cat/small dog and weigh up to about 5-6kgs when fully grown.  Most often hunted with .22 magnum, .223 centrefire or a bow.  Generally nocturnal but in the bush they can be found during daylight hours.  They cause massive amounts of damage to the bush.  
• Bennett’s Wallaby (South Island) - these wallabies are much larger than the Dama and can grow up to approximately 75–90cm tall, the female can grow to about 15kgs and the males to 25-30kgs when fully grown.  Most often hunted with a range of centrefire rifles.  They are predominantly found in the area between Ashburton through to Dunedin and westward to the Southern Alps.  These animals live mainly in the open high country and tussock areas.  
• DO NOT move wallaby from their current range as they are a massive pest issue. ​
• Notify DOC / MPI and/or a Regional Council if you see a wallaby

From the MPI Website:   Stopping the spread of wallabies
Wallabies are classified as an unwanted organism under sections 52 and 53 of the Biosecurity Act 1993. That means they cannot be bred, sold, moved (transported), or exhibited without a permit. There are fines of up to $100,000 and/or 5 years in jail for those individuals who do.
They can breed from a young age, which means populations can build quickly if not well managed.
Find out how you can help stop the spread of wallabies
 

Medium Game:

A standard DOC permit  is needed to hunt all game on DOC land.  These can be obtained online for a twelve month period and are free - Apply here
Please ensure you have permission from all landowners when hunting on private land.

• Goats - are found throughout both the North and South Islands and also some offshore islands (not Stewart Island) and can be hunted on both private and DOC land.  Most practical and cost-effective hunting is done with a smaller calibre centrefire rifle – ie 223, 243 etc, but any higher calibre is also very effective.  Goat meat is excellent for eating. 
•  Pigs - wild pigs are found on both private and DOC land and are most effectively hunted with dogs.  They can also be encountered when you are deerstalking and are able to be shot with any rifle being used.  Big boars can grow to 70-80kgs and sows to 50kgs. Wild pigs are generally coloured: black, ginger, brown and black and sometimes with patches of white or even fully “white” if there has been inbreeding with domestic pigs.  Wild pork makes for excellent eating – especially if it is a younger animal.  
• Wild Sheep - There are very few places in New Zealand where there are genuinely “wild sheep” with the exception of some places in the South Island high country, the central north island and the Chatham Islands.  The Chatham Islands is where most of the wild sheep can be hunted as a target species where there is both DOC and private land hunting of sheep.  They range in colour from white through to motley browns and black.  The rams often have impressive, curled horns.

 
Horned Game:

• Chamois - Originally from the mountains of Europe, Chamois are found in the high country of the South Island only.  They belong to the same families as goat and antelope and range in colour from light brown to almost black with cream makings on their faces.  Chamois have backward curled horns where a length of 9” or more is considered a trophy.  They have dispersed further afield than just the high country and can now be found in areas of Southland but still in the back country.  Chamois have incredible eyesight and sense of smell and are also extremely agile in the rocky terrain and move very fast across the mountain sides. They have a high pitched whistle rather than a bleat like a goat.  These graceful animals are often a “must have” for those who love hunting in the mountains.  The preferred calibres for Chamois are flat shooting, high energy calibres such as .243 or above.

  

• Tahr - Tahr are considered the top alpine game animal to hunt.  They were introduced from the Himalayas where they spend their lives in the mountains.  The general range for Tahr is from the Rakaia River in the north to the Young River in the south.  New Zealand is one of the only countries in the world where they are able to be hunted freely.  Both bulls and nannies have horns but the size of the animal and the horns are much bigger on the bulls.  Tahr have incredibly long and thick shaggy coats to survive the hard winters.  What is mind-blowing for hunters is where Tahr can be found (sheer rock faces) and the way that they can traverse these areas with such grace and speed.  The rut for Tahr is generally in May and June (similar to Chamois).  Tahr and Chamois live in the same general areas, however they do not readily mix and will tend to feed away from each other.  High energy and flat shooting rifles such as .270s are preferred for Tahr, bowhunting them is a challenge, due to distance, but is doable.

Big Game:
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• Fallow - widely spread throughout most of New Zealand.  Generally found in mobs ranging from 4-6 animals through to 100’s in some places. Fallow do not “live” in the bush, but they will head into the bush for safety and cover. They are a “parkland” animal so they are grazers and found on farmland. They vary in colour from white through to light brown with spots, to chestnut brown and then mid to dark grey, some are almost black in colour, Bucks grow palmated antlers.  Hunting with .223 or 243 calibres is generally preferred but larger calibres are very effective as well.  For bowhunting fallow are the most commonly taken of the deer species.  Skins from both does and bucks are great for tanning. The venison from fallow is very mild to eat and often stated as the best venison.

 

• Whitetail - Whitetail deer are found across Stewart Island/Rakiura and also in small numbers in the general Greenstone Valley area in Queenstown/Central Otago.  They are often referred to as the “Grey Ghosts” as they are very quiet and often encountered at less than 10m. Hunting with a bow is most often achieved by using tree stands or for rifles,  .223 or 243 calibres are generally preferred but larger calibres are also very effective. They are found in the bush on Stewart Island but are also often seen out on the beaches eating seaweed and kelp after high tide. They are the smallest deer and venison from Whitetail is extremely tender and tasty.

 

• Sika - These are found in the central North Island, the Kaimanawa and Kaweka Forest Parks being their traditional home.  Their colouration is generally chestnut/red brown with white spots in the summer and then greyish in the winter with the spots being much harder to see.  Generally using a .243 or larger calibre is preferred for Sika, bow hunting is also achievable but a challenge due to their behaviour.   Sika are a smallish deer with bucks growing to 60kgs and does to 40kgs. They have a high-pitched whistle/squeal call and most people will have heard this when the Sika have been spooked or are alarmed.  They are also very inquisitive and will often be found not far from camp or will “come back around for another look”.  Sika deer are now under a Herd of Special Interest (HOSI) designation.

 

• Rusa - Rusa deer originated from India and Indonesia rather than European or American backgrounds like most other deer in New Zealand.  Their home range is the central North Island – Galatea through to Te Urewera, and out to the coastal regions of Whakatane.  Generally using a .243 or larger calibre is preferred.  Hunting Rusa with a bow is very challenging as they are often found on sunny slip faces where getting close enough for a bow is not easy.  A mature stag will generally grow antlers with 6 points.  The rut period for Rusa is August and September.  Their coat is more akin to looking like pig bristles than hair like other deer.  Venison from Rusa is good to eat although it is often quoted as being “pretty tough” by some people.

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• Red - These have long been the most common deer in New Zealand but that is now most likely equaled by Fallow.  They are found throughout the country with the exception of Taranaki, Northland and the Coromandel Peninsula. They are commonly found both in bushland and on farmland, because they can easily jump fences they often go between both of these areas.  They are deemed to be a large deer and stags in the wild can grow up to 80-90 kgs.  They have multi tined antlers so they can range from a spiker through to a 12-14 or even 16 point animal in the wild.  Most people will see stags that are 4-8 points.  Multi pointed Red deer (20 points etc) will definitely have farmed genetics in them.  Hinds are a very shiny brown/red colour in summer and greyer coloured in the winter.  Stags are similar for both seasons but generally darker.  Red deer “roar or rut” is late March and through April. Generally using a .243 calibre or above is preferred for hunting red deer.  Red deer can be successfully hunted with a bow.  Venison from Red deer is darker than the smaller species but still very good to eat, although it does need to be hung for a few days for the best results.

 

• Wapiti / Elk - Wapiti are only found in Fiordland which was their “birthplace in New Zealand” after being gifted by USA President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905.  They were released in George Sound, Fiordland.  Wapiti or Elk are the largest deer, they are similar in colour to reds but are much bigger.  Their colour does tend to be more “creamy coloured” and they have a large white rump patch - Wapiti in Native American means “white rump”.  Their rutting period is often called the “bugle” given the nature of their call - March and April.  It is expected that hunting Wapiti will be done with a minimum of .308 calibre rifles or only by very experienced bowhunters with the appropriate poundage bows.  There is a ballot each year for the Wapiti hunting period over the roar/rut/bugle.  These are advertised and cover the main Wapiti areas.  Hunting in these areas is permitted with a regular DOC hunting permit for most other times of the year but please check and find out what the hunting exclusion times frames are.

 

• Sambar - Sambar are generally only found in two places in the North Island  – near Levin and Sanson on the lower west coast and in the Whakatane and Opotiki areas on the east coast.  They are a very secretive animal which is ironic given their large size and body mass.  Farmland, sand dunes, bush areas and forestry are all home range areas for Sambar.  They make a “honking” sound when alarmed but apart from that they are seldom heard.  A mature stag can weigh well over 120kgs and they are the second largest deer in New Zealand.  Having 6 point (3 on each side) antlers is a definite trophy for Sambar – while they don’t carry many “points”, the weight of the antlers is very impressive.  High energy calibres of .270 and above are recommended for hunting Sambar.  It is generally agreed that the venison from Sambar is not a favourite for the plate ... we won't go into some of the descriptions that have been touted!  With this in mind, corned sambar is nice and meat from young animals is most likely okay as well.