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New Zealand's first herd of special interest has been officially designated — and it's in Fiordland.
The Fiordland wapiti herd has been granted herd of special interest (HOSI) status, a recognition that locks in hunter-led management of the herd and gives the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation a formal, long-term mandate to keep doing what it has largely been self-funding for decades.
Game Animal Council chief executive Corina Jordan called it a landmark moment. "This is a historic day for hunters, and for modern game animal management in New Zealand," Jordan said.
The designation is the result of more than two years of work between the Game Animal Council, the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation and the Department of Conservation. It builds on a management model that is already internationally recognised — one where hunters and the Foundation have shouldered most of the cost of monitoring, herd management and broader conservation work inside Fiordland National Park.
"The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, its committee, supporters, volunteers and the wider wapiti hunting community have worked hard over the last couple of decades to showcase the benefits of hunter-led game animal management. This designation reflects that," Jordan said.
The HOSI framework is designed to protect conservation values while allowing valued herds to be actively managed for hunting. In practice, that means the Foundation continues its work — maintaining huts and tracks, running predator control, supporting conservation projects — but now with formal certainty behind it.
"HOSI enables and empowers practical, responsible and hunter-led game animal management," Jordan said. "The Foundation's management is internationally recognised and is in one of the most remote and challenging parts of New Zealand."
The Game Animal Council has been working with the Department of Conservation since 2022 to develop the processes needed to propose and assess HOSI designations. This first designation is effectively the proof of concept.
"The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation has shown what HOSI can achieve with hunters, local communities and agencies working together to manage game animals and support conservation. The Wapiti HOSI designation provides certainty for this work to continue and grow into the future," Jordan said.
The Minister for Hunting and Fishing retains overall management responsibility, with the Department of Conservation supporting implementation on the Minister's behalf. Operational delivery sits with the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation under arrangements with the department.
"We look forward to continuing to work with the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, hunters, the Department of Conservation, Ngāi Tahu, Papatipu Rūnanga, and the wider community to support the successful implementation of the Wapiti HOSI," Jordan said.