National Parks Act 1980

Offences

62: Trespassing animals

You could also call this:

"What happens to animals that don't belong in national parks"

If you find an animal that doesn't belong in a national park, a ranger or someone helping them can take it away. If the animal doesn't have a brand or registration and no one seems to own it, it becomes the government's property. The Minister can then decide to kill it, sell it, or do something else with it.

If the animal has a brand, registration, or a known owner, the Minister can try to contact the owner. They might send a letter or put a notice in the local newspaper for two weeks. The notice will tell the owner to remove the animal within 14 days, or it might be killed, sold, or dealt with in another way.

If you're caught letting your animal into a national park, you might have to pay for the costs of the notices, looking after the animal, and fixing any damage it caused. A judge will decide how much you have to pay.

Any money the government gets from dealing with these animals goes into a special bank account. This law doesn't apply to wild animals, which are covered by a different law called the Wild Animal Control Act 1977.

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This page was last updated on 13 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM38296.

Topics:

Environment and resources > Conservation

61: Seizure and forfeiture of property, or

"Taking away and keeping things when you break park rules"

63: Offences in respect of rangers, or

"Breaking rules about rangers in national parks can get you in trouble"

Part 7Offences

62Trespassing animals

Any animal that is found trespassing on a national park may be seized by any ranger or person called upon by him for assistance.
Where any such animal is unbranded or unregistered and has no reputed owner, it shall be forfeited to the Crown, and the Minister may cause it to be destroyed, sold, or otherwise disposed of as he thinks fit.
Where any such animal is branded or registered or has a reputed owner, the Minister may—
give written notice to the reputed owner, or his agent, or any person who ought to have charge of the animal; or
issue, once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in some newspaper circulating in the locality, a notice,—

If any animal referred to in subsection (3) is not so removed within the period mentioned in the notice, the Minister may cause it to be destroyed, sold, or otherwise disposed of.
Any person convicted of an offence against section 60(1)(a) shall, in addition to any penalty for which he may be liable in respect of the offence, be liable to pay—
any costs incurred by the Minister in giving or issuing any notice under subsection (3); and
the expenses of mustering, keeping, destroying, selling, or otherwise disposing of the animal in accordance with this section; and
the cost of repairing or restoring any damage done to the park by the animal.

The costs and expenses referred to in subsection (5) shall be assessed by a District Court Judge and shall be recoverable in like manner as a fine.
All money received by the Minister under this section shall be paid into a Crown Bank Account and dealt with in accordance with section 57.
Nothing in this section applies to wild animals (as defined in section 2 of the Wild Animal Control Act 1977).

Notes

Section 62(6): amended, on 1 July 2013, by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
Section 62(7): amended, on 25 January 2005, pursuant to section 83(7) of the Public Finance Act 1989 (1989 No 44).
Section 62(8): inserted, on 25 November 1994, by section 6 of the National Parks Amendment Act 1994 (1994 No 112).