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Hunting in Southland

176 DOC permit areas, 30 roar blocks, 70 huts, 4,751 unformed legal roads — and what each of them means before you go.

What has been recorded here

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 176 hunting permit areas in Southland, 30 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.

4,751 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 Southland

Balloted and restricted blocks here

How to get on every restricted block

1080 in Southland right now

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

  • Pukunui - Ground Control caution to 2027-08-28
  • Blue Mountains NPCP 2026 caution to 2027-04-30
  • Eyre Snowdon_Trial_Readymade Meat Bait_Aerial caution to 2026-12-30

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

70 across 9 parks and conservation areas. 49 you can simply turn up at, and 38 of those have a fire.

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Hut locations and facilities: Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0), via the DOC open data hub.

Rakiura National Park30 huts

Eyre Mountains/Taka Rā Haka Conservation Park16 huts

Takitimu Conservation Area12 huts

Mavora Lakes Conservation Park5 huts

Longwood Forest Conservation Area2 huts

Snowdon Forest Conservation Area2 huts

Elsewhere1 hut

Glory Cove Scenic Reserve1 hut

Stewart Island/Rakiura1 hut

Before you walk in

This is a snapshot of DOC’s hut dataset, not a live feed — DOC last refreshed it in April 2026 and has flagged it for replacement. Huts close, burn down, get booked out and get alerts put on them. Before you commit to sleeping in one, open its DOC page and check.

“Turn up” means first come, first served — carry a Backcountry Hut Pass or tickets, and expect company. The rules about firearms and carcasses near huts are the same everywhere and worth reading once.

Asking for private land

Most of Southland 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