Animal Welfare Act 1999

Conduct towards animals - Ill-treating, hunting, or killing wild animals or animals in wild state

30A: Wilful or reckless ill-treatment of wild animals or animals in wild state

You could also call this:

"Harming wild animals on purpose or by being reckless is against the law and can lead to big fines or prison."

If you hurt a wild animal on purpose, you can get in trouble with the law. You can also get in trouble if you hurt a wild animal by being reckless, which means you do not think about how your actions might harm the animal. The law is there to protect wild animals from being treated badly.

If you are accused of hurting a wild animal, you might have a defence if you can show that what you did is a common practice in New Zealand for hunting or killing that type of animal. A court can decide that what you did was okay if it was part of your job under another law, and if saying you did something wrong would go against the purpose of that law. The law does not apply to wild animals in captivity, unless they are in a safari park.

The law also does not apply if you accidentally hurt or kill an animal, or if you need to hurt an animal to protect yourself. You will not get in trouble for things that are already allowed under section 179 or section 181. If you break the law, you can get a big fine or even go to prison, depending on what you did and whether you are an individual or a company.

If you hurt a wild animal on purpose, you could go to prison for up to 5 years or get a fine of up to $100,000, or both. If you are a company, you could get a fine of up to $500,000. If you hurt a wild animal by being reckless, you could go to prison for up to 3 years or get a fine of up to $75,000, or both, and companies could get a fine of up to $350,000.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6475334.


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30: Strict liability, or

"No excuse is needed to be guilty of hurting an animal, but you can defend yourself if you tried to prevent harm."


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30B: Hunting or killing, or

"Hunting or killing animals has rules to follow"

Part 2Conduct towards animals
Ill-treating, hunting, or killing wild animals or animals in wild state

30AWilful or reckless ill-treatment of wild animals or animals in wild state

  1. A person commits an offence if the person wilfully ill-treats a wild animal or an animal in a wild state.

  2. A person commits an offence if the person recklessly ill-treats a wild animal or an animal in a wild state.

  3. A defendant has a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) or (2) if the defendant satisfies the court that the conduct alleged to constitute an offence is or is part of a generally accepted practice in New Zealand for the hunting or killing of wild animals of that type or animals in a wild state of that type.

  4. In determining whether wilful or reckless ill-treatment of an animal has occurred, a court may treat an act or omission as lawful (and not subject to subsection (1) or (2)) if satisfied that—

  5. the act or omission was done in the course of performing functions for the purposes of another Act; and
    1. not to treat the act or omission as lawful would be contrary to the purpose and principles of that Act.
      1. Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) applies to—

      2. a wild animal in captivity (other than in captivity in a safari park); or
        1. the accidental or inadvertent killing or harming of an animal; or
          1. any act or omission necessary to protect a person's life or safety.
            1. Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) affects section 179 or 181.

            2. A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction,—

            3. in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to a fine not exceeding $100,000, or to both:
              1. in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $500,000.
                1. A person who commits an offence against subsection (2) is liable on conviction,—

                2. in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to a fine not exceeding $75,000, or to both:
                  1. in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $350,000.
                    Notes
                    • Section 30A: inserted, on , by section 20 of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 (2015 No 49).