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 regulations under the Essential Freshwater package mean that stock must be kept at least three metres from our waterways.
This is being applied in a phased approach up to 1 July 2025.
The stock exclusion rules apply to beef cattle, dairy cows, dairy support cows, pigs and deer, and are slightly different for each.
The dates by which each stock type must exclude from waterways are detailed below.
Sheep are excluded from the new regulations, but the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP) includes rules that apply to sheep at both regional and sub-regional levels.
Stock exclusion rules
The Stock Exclusion Regulations 2020 require stock on new pastoral systems to be excluded from lakes and wide rivers (rivers with a bed wider than one-metre) with a three-metre minimum setback.
If a permanent fence was already in place on 3 September 2020, the three-metre minimum setback doesn’t apply.
Stock must also be fully excluded from wetlands. There is no minimum setback distance.
You’ll need to consider these regulations alongside the stock exclusion rules in the LWRP.
If you have any questions about the new regulations, how they relate to the LWRP or if you need consent for your operation contact your zone’s Land Management Advisor.
Key dates
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.
- 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 the Canterbury Land Water Regional Plan, a district plan or Canterbury 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.
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 the Canterbury Land Water Regional Plan, a district plan or Canterbury 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.
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 the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan, a district plan or Canterbury 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 and lakes.
- 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 the Canterbury Land Water Regional Plan, a district plan or Canterbury 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.
Under the LWRP, stock crossing is a permitted activity in some circumstances. Contact your zone’s Land Management Advisor to check if resource consent is required.
In addition to these rules, you will also need to comply with the rules in the LWRP.
Need help?
If you have any questions about the new Essential Freshwater regulations for stock exclusion contact your zone’s Land Management Advisor.
More information
Threatened species means any indigenous species of flora or fauna that rely on water bodies for at least part of its life cycle and meets the criteria for nationally critical, nationally endangered, or nationally vulnerable species in the New Zealand Threat Classification System Manual.
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.
The LWRP also defines "intensively farmed stock" as:
- cattle or deer grazed on irrigated land or contained for break-feeding of winter feed crops
- dairy cattle, including cows, whether dry or milking, and whether on irrigated land or not
- farmed pigs.
Both definitions apply to stock exclusion from waterways.
Find out more about intensive winter grazing under the Essential Freshwater package.
The new Essential Freshwater regulations apply to natural wetlands as defined in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM). Artificially made wetlands, dams and drainage canals are not classed as wetlands under the new regulations.
If an area doesn’t meet the definition of a wetland under the NPS-FM, it may meet the wetland definition under the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP). If so, the LWRP rules apply to the wetland.
Find out more about wetlands as defined by the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan and National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM).