Minister accuses Forest and Bird of 'unnecessary scaremongering' over game animal bill

New legislation that seeks to protect introduced species from eradication will prioritise "wealthy trophy hunters" over conservation, according to Forest and Bird.

But the minister who introduced it says that's "unnecessary scaremongering".

Forest and Bird has slammed the Game Animal Council (Herds of Special Interest) Amendment Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament last week.

The bill adjusts current legislation so species deemed in need of extermination (as pests) can be saved from that by instead being designated 'herds of special interest' by the Hunting and Fishing Minister.

Minister James Meager said it resolved a conflict in the legislation between the National Parks Act - that required introduced animals to be exterminated as far as possible - and the Game Animal Council Act, which he said always intended special herds to be allowed in national parks.

He is expected to decide on whether to designate Fiordland wapiti and sika as herds of special interest soon.

Proposals to grant the Fiordland wapiti and sika herds such status received just shy of 600 submissions, more than half of them in support.

Meager said the bill was another tool to "effectively and sustainably" manage valued introduced species such as deer and tahr on the country's conservation estate, keeping levels at a healthy number while protecting biodiversity.

But Forest and Bird's regional conservation manager Nicky Snoyink said deer and tahr ate native plants, decreased diversity, and affected the habitats that native species needed for survival.

She said the law change allowed for national parks to become commercial game trophy hunting parks and would lead to "more auctions for wealthy tourists to gain exclusive access at the expense of others", including recreational hunters.

"As New Zealanders, national parks are our most beloved and treasured public places.

"There shouldn't be protected herds of pest animals - elevated above species like kākāriki and kiwi - destroying alpine flowers and forest understoreys in the very places set aside to protect native species."

Snoyink said hunters were necessary to reduce pest animal numbers and protect native species, but the bill was not the way to achieve that.

Meager, however, said Forest and Bird's claims were "unnecessary scaremongering tactics".

He said a herd of special interest designation would not seek to increase animal numbers and a key focus of it would be on native plant regeneration by reducing browsing pressure.

He said they would be managed in line with conservation legislation, including biodiversity impact monitoring, with annual reporting on herd management made publicly available.

The claim that a herd designation would favour "a select few wealthy trophy hunting tourists" over recreational hunters couldn't be further from the truth, Meager said.

"If anything, Forest and Bird's eradication goal would reduce hunting solely to wealthy individuals on private hunting estates. It would shut out the opportunity for everyday Kiwis to go hunting in the back blocks of New Zealand for free."