Calling all Sika hunters to submit | OPEN FOR CONSULTATION UNTIL 30 SEPTEMBER
OSPRI has published its proposed National Aerial Operations Plan for 2027 and consultation is now open.
The plan sets out where OSPRI intends to fly aerial 1080 next year under the TBfree programme. Six operations are proposed. Four in Hawke's Bay and the eastern Taupo district, two in Otago.
Two of the six drops are inside the Sika HOSI area.
On 15 July, sika deer in the Kaimanawa and Kaweka forest parks became the North Island's first Herd of Special Interest. Around 125,000 hectares, formally gazetted, with hunters given a real role in managing the herd. It was the result of years of proven work by the Sika Foundation and passionate hunters.
Kaweka East drops are proposed from June 2027, between the Mohaka and Tutaekuri catchments, extending into previously untreated country. Kaweka South drops proposed from July 2027, across the southern Kaweka Range towards the Ruahine.
Sika HOSI Map:
Kaweka East Drop Map:
Kaweka South Drop Map:
The document does devote a section to Herds of Special Interest, and commits OSPRI to working closely with the Game Animal Council, the Sika Foundation and NZDA. But in the plans current form it shows no commitment to offering alternative methods.
This is why your feedback is needed.
What NZDA Is Asking For
Our Poisons and Toxins policy was updated at the 2026 Conference with a new fourth point:
Where poison is to be used by any individual, group or organisation, NZDA will strongly advocate for the use of repellent and other methods to mitigate game animal by-kill.
That sits alongside our long-standing position: NZDA is unequivocally opposed to poison as a non-selective killer of game animals, and rejects the argument that limited by-kill is an acceptable cost. Read full policy here.
NZDA Continues to Advocate Heavily on Poisons and Toxins
NZDA submitted on the 2026 National Aerial Operations Plan and on the plans before it. We raised the alarm on Rakiura when the by-kill data came out. We continue to push for the whitetail to be designated a Herd of Special Interest.
What has changed is that we are no longer prepared to do it quietly. If hunters do not turn up on this one, the precedent is set: a Herd of Special Interest means nothing when an aerial plan comes along.
Have Your Say by 30 September 2026
DOWNLOAD THE NATIONAL AERIAL 2027 PLAN
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