which pets can i have in new zealand

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proudscouse

New Member
hi all ,
first of all i have been lookin which pets i can have in new zealand wellington
but could only see a few pets am hoping some one on here could post a full list which pets u can have and not have !!

1) can i have tortoises ?
2) which breed of dogs can i have ?

i looked on gov site in nz !!

thank you so much !!
 
You can keep tortoises. They generally cost around NZ$1000.

You can have most breeds of dogs although some are banned (e.g. American pit bulls).

For reptiles and birds see the sticky threads at the top of the NZ forum (they are for zoos but most species can also be kept privately...the threads make it clear which cannot be kept by private persons).

For fish there are some banned species (the obvious ones like piranhas etc).

For mammals, without a permit you can have chinchillas, rats, mice, guineapigs, rabbits, cats and the various farm-stock (pigs, goats, llamas etc although there are laws about having livestock in cities and so forth). Dogs need licencing. With an appropriate permit and lots of rules you can have pest species such as possums and wallabies.
 
I believe there's a list online somewhere of exotic animals allowed in NZ and says which ones can be kept privately?
 
driftaguy said:
I believe there's a list online somewhere of exotic animals allowed in NZ and says which ones can be kept privately?
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that is the list of species allowed to be kept by zoos. By "privately" it means licenced facilities which are not open to the public (e.g. Keystone or Peacock Springs).
 
Monty said:
How about Tahr and Chamois, is it legal to keep them without a license.
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you need a licence and they have to be rendered incapable of breeding (e.g. castrated) unless you can get a permit for farming (I think there are or have been a couple of tahr breeders but not of chamois).
 
Aren't there feral European hedgehogs in New Zealand? Would you need a permit to keep one of those?
 
PAT said:
Aren't there feral European hedgehogs in New Zealand? Would you need a permit to keep one of those?
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no permit needed for hedgehogs. Permits are needed for species which are game animals (e.g. deer, chamois, tahr) or which are pest animals (e.g. possums, wallabies, mustelids). Other introduced mammals are fine (i.e. hedgehogs, wild rats and mice). The point is in to stop animals being spread to new areas by people releasing pets or pets escaping (hence the reason the keeping of ferrets was banned a few years ago).
 
Chlidonias said:
no permit needed for hedgehogs. Permits are needed for species which are game animals (e.g. deer, chamois, tahr) or which are pest animals (e.g. possums, wallabies, mustelids). Other introduced mammals are fine (i.e. hedgehogs, wild rats and mice). The point is in to stop animals being spread to new areas by people releasing pets or pets escaping (hence the reason the keeping of ferrets was banned a few years ago).
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Oh good, my grandparents always tell me about how they used to leave milk out for the wild hedgehogs (thinking they were doing them a favour) and I always dreamed of moving to New Zealand and keeping hedgehogs.
 
PAT said:
Oh good, my grandparents always tell me about how they used to leave milk out for the wild hedgehogs (thinking they were doing them a favour) and I always dreamed of moving to New Zealand and keeping hedgehogs.
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I don't know that many people do keep hedgehogs, I've never seen any for sale, or in zoos (except in small private collections possibly). Would probably be easiest to catch wild individuals, and hand raise young to tame them. Hedgehogs are very cool though, they would make interesting pets.
 
zooboy28 said:
I don't know that many people do keep hedgehogs, I've never seen any for sale, or in zoos (except in small private collections possibly). Would probably be easiest to catch wild individuals, and hand raise young to tame them. Hedgehogs are very cool though, they would make interesting pets.
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no they are not ever sold (well, maybe sometimes but not that I've ever seen). They are in a few zoos here and there from time to time. I've seen them at Willowbank and Nga Manu, and Living Art near Rotorua has/had albino ones (apparently they are locally common in the wild up there). Catching an adult wild one to turn into a pet isn't very nice -- better to just leave it as a wild inhabitant in the garden and feed it -- but hand-raised ones make good pets. They need loads of room though (they are very active) so a little hutch doesn't cut it. Having said that, I've never heard of anyone keeping them as pets in NZ.
 
Shaun said:
Can I own a platypus as a pet In new Zealand
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Indeed you can. They can be found at any supermarket and start from around $2. If you wanna get a really decent one, that could set you back a tenner - but they’re worth every penny! Not many people know this, but they’re a lot easier to keep than you think. Any old bathtub will do; but if you feel like really treating them, a lap around your pool does them wonders.

Sorry, couldn’t resist. :p In all seriousness, the answer to your question is no, certainly not.

Welcome to ZooChat (I see this is your first post). If you have any similar questions, you can also Google them to find the answers. Platypus can’t even be kept as a pet in their native country and are also rarely seen in Australian zoos.
 
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