Opens 1 August 2025.

Wild goats on your land

Be into win $2,500 worth of gear from Hunters Element by registering your interest for your land to be hunted by a vetted member(s) of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA).

This “Goat Free Zone’ category is only open to private landowners or designated property managers (not hunters).

NZDA members have full insurance.

This landowner and hunter agreement (PDF, 739K) will be used to give you full assurance your property will be treated with respect and you can write your own terms and conditions in. It has been developed with input from Federated Farmers, the Forestry Owners Association, and DOC.

Date: 11 June – 26 November 2025. 

How to register

Fill out this online entry form

Entries close at midnight on 26 November 2025.

Health and safety

People in agriculture and farming often wonder how the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015) (HSWA) applies when people access land for recreation. HSWA only applies to recreational access when the land is affected by work activities or is part of a workplace.

WorkSafe’s Policy clarification: Recreational access and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

This means a person whose land is being accessed for recreation (including recreational hunting) is:

• only responsible for risks arising from the work or workplace, such as someone being attacked by a bull or a culvert collapsing, and is
• not responsible for the risks associated with the recreational activities.

If you have a lifestyle block or small land holding and have shooting activities (eg wild animal control) happening or you are using private land for shooting activities, there are considerations you need to take.

Learn more on Te Tari Pūreke Firearms Safety Authority website

1. The competition is open to all hunters.
2. All goat tails and goat heads entered must be wild and taken legally, recreationally, and humanely between 1 August to 26 November 2025. If using firearms, hunters must have a current firearms license or be supervised by a current and appropriate firearms license holder. Hunters have responsibilities under Sections 30A and 30B of the Animal Welfare Act 1999. Wilful or reckless ill-treatment of wild animals or animals in wild state is an offense. 
3. The organisers reserve the right to refuse any wild goat tail or head, should they doubt its eligibility. Honesty that the wild goat tail or head are taken in accordance with the law, animal ethics, and all the competition rules is appreciated.
4. The competition may occur anywhere you have permission to hunt either through landowner consent or the local authority of the land, if forestry or farms, or by permit for public conservation land or council land.
5. All land access conditions must be followed, whether under permit or through landowner consent.
6. Wild goat heads can only be taken to an approved New Zealand Deerstalker Association entry point.
7. All wild goat tails and heads must be presented fresh or frozen in a clean manner. Tails need to be secured in a bag and if frozen, tails need to be in a free flow state, so they can be easily counted.
8. All wild goat tails will be counted by an approved verifier.
9. All wild goat tails and goat heads entered at an official recording point will be eligible for the national prize draw. Noting all tails and heads are only eligible to be entered once in the competition.
10. In the event that a wild goat is killed, but cannot be retrieved by a competitor, the competitor may take a time and date stamped photo with the dead wild goat in view to an official recording point for review. It is at the Judge’s discretion whether to accept the photo as proof of a tail entry.
11. All wild goat head measurements will be based on the Douglas Scoring System and will be carried out by an approved New Zealand Deerstalker Association judge. Judge’s decision is final.
12. Any goat tail and/or head taken in a paid or commercial capacity is not eligible as an entry into the national or any local competition.
13. No responsibility can be accepted for any entries lost, delayed or corrupted as a result of computer error.
14. By entering into the competition, you agree to the collection and use of any personal information and data supplied for the purposes of contacting and publicly announcing prizewinners, and to measure the success of the competition.
15. All hunters must comply with the 7 rules of firearms safety

Founding sponsor

• Hunting & Fishing

Major sponsor

• Nocpix

Supporting sponsors 

• NZ Hunter
• Te Tari Pūreke Firearms Safety Authority
• Bushnell
• New Zealand Professional Hunting Guides Association 
• Hunters Element
• Missing in Aotearoa

Always follow:

• the 7 rules of firearms safety
• the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Code of Ethics
• DOC's hunter safety information
• follow the Outdoor Access Code

Hunters must follow the Firearms Safety Code

More information on firearms safety can be found at the NZ Mountain Safety Council (MSC) website

All wild goats must be taken legally and humanely.

It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 to wilfully or recklessly ill-treat a wild animal or an animal in a wild state.

Talk to your local NZDA branch or local DOC office about hunting in your local area. 

See the map for wild goat distribution and where the goat entry points are located across New Zealand.  

Wild goat distribution map (PDF, 5,993K)

You can use the hunting block search function to find hunting areas that have wild goats on public conservation land.

Search for a hunting block that has wild goats

For more information on hunting wild goats and for some hunting tips, see wild goats or visit NZDA’s website.

Be aware of the boundaries of hunting areas – livestock may be present. Note that wild goats are often seen in places where you are not allowed to hunt like on road edges, train tracks, river, and road reserves.

Be visible, take appropriate equipment, check the weather, and let someone know where you are going. Identify your target beyond doubt, and make sure your shooting background is safe (not towards skylines). 

Be careful in steep terrain or flooded waterways, if in doubt do not retrieve the goat and take a picture instead. Don’t take any risks with steep terrain or flooded waterways to retrieve goat tails.

To find out whether land might be private, check out the outdoor access maps on Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa website

Make sure you have permission to enter, and you have a clear understanding when and where you will be hunting with the landowner or land manager. 

Follow Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa's guidelines when asking for permission to hunt on private land

Ask if it is necessary to notify neighbouring properties so they are not concerned if they hear rifle shots or see hunters. 

There is usually a reason why access is denied. Be aware of seasonal farming activities like lambing, be fire safe, take home any rubbish, consider others in the backcountry, and respect the wishes of landowners and facilities provided. 

Any restrictions around hunting dogs should be followed.

Hunters using dogs should be aware of information about hunting with dogs

Bring a first aid kit for your dog as well as yourself.