Yep, you read that right. The Government has changed the Wildlife Act to allow people to kill native wildlife if it’s considered a threat to economic activity. That includes iconic taonga species like kiwi, ruru (morepork), and kererū.
This wasn’t widely reported in the news — and it was rushed through Parliament with no public consultation.
Let’s break it down.
What is the Wildlife Act?
The Wildlife Act 1953 is one of Aotearoa’s oldest conservation laws. It’s supposed to protect native animals from harm — including birds, reptiles, and some invertebrates. Most of our taonga species are fully protected under this Act, meaning you can’t harm or kill them.
What’s changed?
The Government passed a new law (under urgency) that allows exemptions to the Wildlife Act if native animals are seen as a “nuisance” to business or commercial activity — like tourism, farming, or forestry.
This means it’s now legal to harm or kill protected species if a business can argue that the animal is causing economic harm.
How did this happen?
The change was slipped into a wider bill (the Fast-track Approvals Bill) and passed under urgency — skipping the usual consultation process. That means the public, iwi, hapū, conservation experts, and Māori environmental advocates weren’t given a chance to have a say.
Why are people angry?
Because this sets a dangerous precedent. It weakens protections for native wildlife, ignores Te Tiriti responsibilities, and prioritises short-term profit over long-term ecological and cultural wellbeing.
For Māori, native species are more than just animals — they’re tūpuna, kaitiaki, and taonga. This change undermines our responsibilities and relationships with the natural world.
Did you know?
When the Wildlife Act was passed in 1953 by the First National Government, Māori were not at the table. The legislation reflected colonial ideas of conservation — and while it offered protections for native species, it ignored the role of tangata whenua as kaitiaki. Over 70 years later, we’re still reckoning with the consequences of that exclusion.
Our whakaaro:
This isn’t just about conservation — it’s about control.
Changing the Wildlife Act without warning, without consultation, and without the voice of Māori is a breach of Te Tiriti and a red flag for how environmental decisions are being made in Aotearoa.
Our taiao shapes our health, identity, and future. When native species are treated as disposable in the name of development, that’s not progress — it’s erasure.
Kaitiakitanga isn’t a barrier to economic growth — it’s a blueprint for long-term wellbeing.
We envision an Aotearoa where environmental protection is led by tangata whenua, where development honours Te Tiriti, and where the health of people, land, and wildlife are never treated as optional.
What can you do?
- Share the kōrero.
Most people don’t even know this has happened. Share it with your whānau, your mates, your feed. - Tag your MP.
Ask them: Why is protecting kiwi now optional? What does partnership mean if decisions like this are rushed through? - Speak up when it counts.
If more changes come, we submit. We show up.
