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Hunting, collecting, fishing and homekill

Hunting, collecting and fishing – for personal use
Hunting, collecting and fishing – for commercial gain
Non-commercial wild foods – the food safety risks
Some specific risks with wild animals
Related links

Hunting, collecting and fishing for wild food, a traditional part of New Zealand culture, may have some risks or restrictions. Learn the difference between a recreational catch and collecting for commercial gain. Also find the food safety requirements for commercial hunters, game estates and homekill service providers. Toxic shellfish alerts are here too.

Hunting, collecting and fishing – for personal use

The wild animals, birds, fish, shellfish and plants hunted or harvested for your personal consumption (or your immediate family) is classed as non-commercial. You eat this food at your own risk. No assurances can be given about whether or not meat from wild animals is fit to eat.

Under the Animal Products Act, recreationally collected meat cannot be sold under any circumstances. All traded meat undergoes thorough collection, hygiene and processing standards and control before it reaches the consumer. This is not the case for recreationally collected meat.

The Fisheries Act and the Animal Products Act prohibit trading of recreationally caught fish. There are significant penalties for selling recreationally caught fish.

Recreational catch – the policy for recreational catch activity

The parts of your recreational catch that can be traded

You can trade the parts of your recreational catch that are not for human or animal consumption. For example hides, skins, horns, antlers etc. Waste material can be sold or disposed of to a renderer.

Killing, butchering and cooking your recreational catch

A restaurant may prepare and cook the fish or wild game you have caught, and serve it to you and your friends. However, if the restaurant is also a butchery or trading in regulated animal products (eg, wholesaling) they need to meet additional legislative requirements.

You can have your recreational catch killed or butchered professionally by a listed homekill or recreational catch service provider.

Homekill and recreational catch service providers

Frequently asked questions about homekill and recreational catch use

Hunting, collecting and fishing – for commercial gain

Under the Animal Products Act if your catch is for human or animal consumption and you trade it then it is commercial. Trade includes:

• bartering

• supplying as part of a contract

• supplying as part of a charge for another product or service

• using for advertising purposes, as a prize or for fundraising.

Meat from wild animals can only be traded if the hunter and the supplier to those who slaughter and dress the meat (primary processor) are certified. This ensures that collection, hygiene and processing for hunted animal products is controlled and monitored before product reaches the consumer.

The legislative requirements for producing meat for human or animal consumption apply to:

• recreational hunting

• commercial hunting

• game estates

• harvesting and processing rabbits and hares etc.

Specifications for commercial hunting under the Animal Products Act 1999

Non-commercial wild foods – the food safety risks

If you eat recreationally caught wild food you do so at your own risk. Foods gathered outside of normal food production activity are not always subject to our monitoring or risk management programme.

Chemicals, toxins, additives and contaminants in food

Foodborne illnesses – what they are and how you can avoid them

We are reviewing non-commercial wild food in New Zealand to assess the potential risks to public health. We want to provide information about those risks do we can help hunters and gatherers to make safe decisions about the wild food they collect and eat.

Review of non-commercial wild food – assessing the safety of gathering and eating wild food

Non-commercial wild food review – about the review and the initial reports