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Wildlife Act 1953

General provisions

53B: Authority under section 53 to kill wildlife incidentally: consistency with protection of wildlife

You could also call this:

"Permission to accidentally harm wildlife, while still protecting it overall"

The Director-General can give you permission to kill wildlife by accident, but only if it does not harm wildlife overall. When deciding, the Director-General thinks about how it affects groups of wildlife and individual animals. You can read more about this in section 53A.

The Director-General looks at how the activity might hurt wildlife and if the permission helps stop this hurt. They also think about if the wildlife can survive and if the permission helps the species. They consider other important things too.

The Director-General wants you to take steps to avoid hurting individual animals when you have this permission. They do not need to think about if each individual action is good for wildlife, just the overall effect. They also do not need to think about if the whole activity is good for wildlife, just if the permission is.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1439814.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Conservation
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53A: Authority may be granted under section 53 to kill wildlife incidentally, or

"Permission to accidentally harm animals while doing something allowed by law."

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53C: Conditions that may be imposed on authority under section 53 to kill wildlife incidentally, or

"Rules for accidentally killing wildlife when you have permission"

Part 5General provisions

53BAuthority under section 53 to kill wildlife incidentally: consistency with protection of wildlife

  1. To avoid doubt, the Director-General may grant an authority referred to in section 53A only if it is consistent with the protection of wildlife.

  2. The authority is to be treated as consistent with the protection of wildlife if, in granting it, the Director-General is satisfied that its overall effect would be consistent with the protection of—

  3. populations of wildlife; and
    1. individual wildlife.

      1. In determining whether the overall effect of the authority would be consistent with the protection of populations of wildlife, the Director-General must have regard to—

      2. any potential adverse effects of the lawful activity on—
        1. populations of wildlife that the Director-General is satisfied may be affected by the lawful activity; and
          1. the viability of the species to which that wildlife belongs; and
          2. the extent to which the authority (including any conditions that the Director-General proposes to impose on the authority) addresses those potential adverse effects; and
            1. any other matter that the Director-General considers is relevant.

              1. The Director-General may be satisfied that the overall effect of the authority would be consistent with the protection of individual wildlife only if satisfied that the holder of the authority will take reasonable steps (including by complying with any relevant conditions imposed on the authority) to avoid, minimise, and mitigate any adverse effects of the lawful activity on individual wildlife.

              2. In granting the authority, the Director-General is not required to be satisfied—

              3. that the lawful activity is itself consistent with the protection of wildlife; or
                1. that each individual act of killing, viewed in isolation, would be consistent with the protection of wildlife.

                  Notes
                  • Section 53B: inserted, on , by section 4 of the Wildlife (Authorisations) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 22).