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Stock exclusion

Stock activity can damage the bed and banks of our waterways. Dung, urine and sediment can also seriously impact water quality, the lives of animals living there and mahinga kai values.

New national stock exclusion regulations were introduced through the RMA in 2020 as part of the government's Essential Freshwater reforms. The regulations are being phased-in gradually up to 1 July 2025. See the full copy of the Stock Exclusion Regulations. 

These stock exclusion rules apply to beef cattle, dairy cows, dairy support cows, pigs and deer, and are slightly different for each animal (the regulations do not apply to sheep).

Some of the regulations depend on if your farm has been classified on the Ministry for the Environment (MfE’s) map as ‘low-slope land’. For more information, look up your farm on the map. Regardless of the actual slope of your paddocks or farm, for the purposes of these regulations:

  • If your land is highlighted on MfE’s map, it is considered ‘low-slope land’.
  • If your land is not highlighted on MfE’s map, it is not considered to be ‘low slope land’ for the purposes of the exclusion regulations.

Fences will need to be built with a 3m minimum setback from the edge of the waterway, unless already fenced permanently at 3 September 2020 (those fences are not required to be shifted).

The dates by which each stock type must be excluded from waterways and wetlands are detailed below:

Beef cattle are those reared for producing meat, excluding dairy and dairy support cattle.

Rivers and lakes

  • 3 September 2020 - All new beef operations established on or after this date must exclude stock from rivers and lakes.
  • 1 July 2023 - Beef cattle that are intensively grazed on any terrain must be excluded from rivers and lakes. (For beef cattle and deer, intensively grazing is: break feeding; grazing on annual forage crops; grazing on pasture that has been irrigated with water in the previous 12 months.)
  • 1 July 2025 - beef cattle on low slope land must be excluded from rivers and lakes.

Wetlands

  • 3 September 2020 – All new beef operations established on or after this date must exclude stock from wetlands.
  • 1 July 2023 – All beef farms must exclude stock from natural wetlands identified (as of 3 September 2020) in an operative regional plan, a district plan or a regional policy statement.
  • 1 July 2025 – All beef farms must exclude stock from natural wetlands that support a threatened species and that are larger than 500m² on low slope land.

Dairy Cattle are cattle farmed for producing milk, including any bull on the farm whose purpose is mating with those cattle, and includes the unweaned calves of those cattle. This excludes dairy support (they are covered in a separate category).

Rivers and lakes

  • 3 September 2020 – All new dairy farms established on or after this date must exclude stock from rivers and lakes.
  • 1 July 2023 – Existing dairy farms must exclude stock from rivers and lakes.

Wetlands

  • 3 September 2020 – All new dairy farms established on or after this date must exclude stock from wetlands.
  • 1 July 2023 – Dairy cows must be excluded from natural wetlands identified (as of 3 September 2020) in an operative regional plan, a district plan or a regional policy statement.
  • 1 July 2025 – Dairy cows must be excluded from natural wetlands that support threatened species and that are larger than 500m² on low slope land.

Dairy support cattle are farmed for producing milk but are not being milked (e.g. heifers or dairy cattle dried off) that are grazed on land that is not grazed by dairy cattle.

Rivers and lakes

  • 3 September 2020 – New dairy support operations established on or after this date must exclude stock from rivers and lakes.
  • 1 July 2023 – No additional rules apply to dairy support cows on this date.
  • 1 July 2025 – All dairy support operations must exclude stock from rivers and lakes.

Wetlands

  • 3 September 2020 – All new dairy support operations established on or after this date must exclude stock from wetlands.
  • 1 July 2023 – Dairy support cows must be excluded from natural wetlands identified (as of 3 September 2020) in an operative regional plan, a district plan or a regional policy statement.
  • 1 July 2025 – Dairy support cows must be excluded from natural wetlands that support threatened species and that are larger than 500m² on low slope land.

Rivers and lakes

  • 3 September 2020 – all new pig operations established on or after this date must exclude pigs from rivers and lakes.
  • 1 July 2023 – all pig farms (including those that existed on 3 September 2020) must exclude pigs from rivers and lakes.

Wetlands

  • 3 September 2020 – all new pig operations established on or after this date must exclude pigs from wetlands.
  • 1 July 2023 – pig farms must exclude pigs from natural wetlands identified (as at 3 September 2020) in an operative regional plan, district plan or regional policy statement.
  • 1 July 2025 – pig farms must exclude pigs from natural wetlands that support threatened species and that are larger than 500m² on low slope land.

Rivers and lakes

  • 3 September 2020 – All new deer operations established on or after this date must exclude stock from rivers and lakes.
  • 1 July 2023 – Intensively grazed deer must be excluded from rivers (intensively grazing is: break feeding; grazing on annual forage crops; grazing on pasture that has been irrigated with water in the previous 12 months.)
  • 1 July 2025 – Deer on low slope land must be excluded from river and lakes.

Wetlands

  • 3 September 2020 – all new deer operations established on or after this date must exclude stock from wetlands.
  • 1 July 2023 – deer must be excluded from natural wetlands identified (as of 3 September 2020) in an operative regional plan, district plan or regional policy statement.
  • 1 July 2025 – deer must be excluded from natural wetlands that support threatened species and that are larger than 500m² on low slope land.

Stock crossings

Stock can cross lakes and rivers if they are supervised and actively driven across the waterbody. Stock cannot cross the same lake or river more than twice in any month.

Where stock will be crossing a river or lake more than twice in any month, a dedicated bridge or culvert must be installed.

Fencing types and existing fences

You do not have to put in new fences to exclude stock from a lake or wide river if, at 3 September 2020, you have a permanent fence. A permanent fence is defined as a post and batten fence with driven or dug fence posts, an electric fence with at least two electrified wires and driven or dug fence posts, or a deer fence.

Who must comply?

The regulations apply to any person that owns or controls deer, pigs, dairy-support cattle, dairy cattle and beef cattle. Sheep are not subject to the requirements.

Bay of Plenty’s Regional Natural Resources Plan stock exclusion rules 

Generally these national stock exclusion regulations will prevail over any existing Bay of Plenty Regional Natural Resources Plan stock exclusion rules, and in any case, the more stringent applies.

If you have a situation where stock access a waterbody on your property, then in addition to the Stock Exclusion Regulations above, please also familiarise yourself with the Natural Resources Plan (NRP) rules and conditions.

Please note: Rule BW R39 (Rule 8) of the NRP Prohibits stock access to any bed of the Rotorua Lakes or any stream, or river classified as Natural State (River) in the Bay of Plenty. The definition of a Natural State River is:

  Water Quality Classification Criteria Explanation
(a) Natural State (River) Rivers and streams that are under indigenous forest cover, and in upper catchment areas, and in public tenure (i.e. owned or managed by the Department of Conservation or city and district councils). Natural State (River) does not apply in areas under indigenous forest cover, but where there is a different land use upstream of the indigenous forest. 

Other definitions 

  • Wide River: A river (as defined in the RMA) with a bed that is wider than 1 metre anywhere in a land parcel.
  • River: A continually or intermittently flowing body of fresh water; and includes a stream and modified watercourse; but does not include any artificial watercourse (including an irrigation canal, water supply race, canal for the supply of water for electricity power generation, and farm drainage canal).
  • Natural wetland: A wetland that is NOT the following:
    1. A wetland constructed by artificial means (unless it was constructed to offset impacts on, or restore, and existing or former natural wetland); or
    2. A geothermal wetland; or
    3. Any area of improved pasture that, at 3 September 2020, has more than 50 percent of exotic pasture species and is subject to temporary rain-derived water ponding.
  • Lake: A body of fresh water which is entirely or nearly entirely surrounded by land.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the new Essential Freshwater regulations for stock exclusion, please contact us.