Hunting in Canterbury

What has been recorded here

• Brushtail possum 763
• Rabbit 568
• Peafowl 346
• Brown hare 278
• Wild turkey 192
• Red deer 124
• Feral pig 84
• Bennett's wallaby 80
• Chamois 40
• Fallow deer 39
• Himalayan tahr 31
• Feral goat 24

Most of these are logged by the public rather than by hunters, so a cluster is a real sign the animal is about and out where it can be seen — it is not a record of where people hunt. But records follow tracks, roads and campsites, so empty country usually means nobody has walked it with a phone rather than that there is nothing there. Presence, not density.

Occurrence data from GBIF.org.

Where you can hunt

DOC files 169 hunting permit areas in Canterbury, 26 of them roar blocks. Public conservation land needs a permit, and each area carries its own conditions and closures — which are DOC’s to set and worth reading for the block you pick.

7,606 unformed legal roads run through the region — public roads that were surveyed and never built. Many cross private farmland, and you may pass along one without asking anybody, though the paddocks either side stay private.

Open the map →Make a hunt plan →Fishing access in Canterbury →

Balloted and restricted blocks here

• Rayonier Matariki ForestsBy permit Forest access · run by Matariki
• Port Blakely forestsBy permit Hunting, through clubs · run by Local clubs

How to get on every restricted block →

1080 in Canterbury right now

12 DOC operations are in their caution period in Canterbury. Baits and carcasses can still kill a dog, and the caution period is the recorded minimum rather than an all-clear.

• ECan Kirkliston CA Aerial 1080 Wallaby Control 2026 caution to 2028-06-07
• Kaumira/Mt Nimrod caution to 2028-04-30
• Ruataniwha 1080 Wallaby Control caution to 2027-03-30
• Ruataniwha 1080 Wallaby Control caution to 2027-03-30
• Ruataniwha 1080 Wallaby Control caution to 2027-03-30
• ECan Two Thumb aerial 1080 wallaby control 2026 caution to 2027-02-22
• ECan Two Thumb aerial 1080 wallaby control 2026 caution to 2027-02-22
• ECan Two Thumb aerial 1080 wallaby control 2026 caution to 2027-02-22

And 4 more.

Every recorded operation, and what it means for dogs →

Shows operations recorded by DOC from March 2022 onward. This is not a statement that 1080 is or is not present now. Always follow on-site warning signs and check DOC for the authoritative position.

Huts

179 across 22 parks and conservation areas. 161 you can simply turn up at, and 98 of those have a fire.

Asking for private land

Most of Canterbury is somebody’s farm, and that is where the animals a landowner wants fewer of usually are. Find the block on the map and we work out the postal address without ever showing you who owns it; you print one page, they scan the code and answer.

Build a profile a landowner can trust →