The ORC’s Environmental Data Portal is experiencing high traffic volumes affecting its effectiveness at present. The site is being worked on at present and people are asked to be patient. Please be considerate in using this tool, some people require access to the EDP for important decision-making today.
Environmental Data PortalThe ORC’s Environmental Data Portal is experiencing high traffic volumes affecting its effectiveness at present. The site is being worked on at present and people are asked to be patient. Please be considerate in using this tool, some people require access to the EDP for important decision-making today.
Under the Biosecurity Act 1993 (the Act) and Otago's Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP) there are a number of organisms that we want to keep out of the country. If these pests are already here, we are trying to reduce the harm they do. Our biosecurity management generally means these organisms have very strict rules. However, it is possible to apply for an exemption to these rules.
Please read the Biosecurity Exemption Information before completing the Biosecurity Exemption Application Form.
September 2024
PDF | 251 KB
Use this form if you have strong criteria for an exemption to the Biosecurity Act 1993 and the Otago Regional Pest Management Plan.
September 2024
PDF | 210 KB
The Otago Regional Council’s pest management plan for Otago is outlined in the Regional Pest Management Plan 2019-2029 (RPMP). Section 78 of the Biosecurity Act 1993 allows exemptions from certain rules in the plan. Rule 8.3 of the RPMP explains the power to grant exemptions and summarises the key points of section 78.
| Exemption Code | Description of exemption: | Reasons for the exemption | Period for the exemption |
| 2024/001 |
An exemption (with conditions) was granted to Rule 6.2.3.4 which prevents anyone other than an authorised person to keep, hold, or otherwise harbour any Bennett’s wallaby. The exemption relates to the translocation and release of 2 wallabies from Canterbury to the Little Kyeburn area of Central Otago as part of a Judas Wallaby Research Project. The project has MPI permission to communicate wallabies for this purpose under section 52 of the Biosecurity Act 1993. |
The exemption was approved for the following reasons: -Under section 78(2)(a) Council is satisfied that granting this exemption will not significantly prejudice the attainment of the RPMP objective for Bennet’s Wallabies, and -Under section 78(2)(b)(iii), Council is satisfied that the requirement is unreasonable in this particular case. The risks associated with holding 2 sterile Judas wallabies for the limited time needed to transfer them to Central Otago for release and research purposes are negligible and outweighed by the benefits to be gained from the research; therefore, enforcing the requirement was considered unreasonable in this case. |
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