24965 (2026). Steve Abel to the Minister for Biosecurity

24965 (2026). Steve Abel to the Minister for Biosecurity: What actions, if any, does the Minister plan to eradicate invasive browser animals?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: The Ministry for Primary industries leads and contributes to a range of programmes to manage and reduce the impact of browser animals. These include: • A recently established programme to achieve a coordinated approach to reduce the impact of introduced browser species on production land. The initial focus of this programme is deer with other species, such as pigs, to be added over time. • The national wallaby eradication programme, which is making strong progress on reducing and, over time, eradicating pest wallabies in the central North Island and parts of the South Island. • Funding and oversight of TBFree New Zealand – the national programme to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from New Zealand cattle and deer herds. The key focus of this programme is to significantly reduce possum numbers and other feral disease carriers in infected regions. • Supporting the Department of Conservation at a governance and planning level in its Wild Animal Management Programme and Predator Free 2050.