Disposal of birds on your property

If you find a sick bird on your property, do not touch, move, feed or attempt to rescue it if bird flu could be a possibility. Leaving the bird undisturbed gives it the best chance of recovering in the wild and reduces the risk of spreading disease to other birds, animals or places.  

If the bird appears to be injured for another reason, such as being hit by a car, phone a veterinary hospital or wildlife facility first, including Wellington Zoo’s Te Kōhanga The Nest, so staff can provide advice before you bring the bird in.

If you find one or two dead birds on your property, your options are: 

Leave it where it is (preferred where safe) 

If the bird is in an area where it does not pose a risk to people, pets or livestock, it can be left undisturbed to decompose naturally. 

Bury it 

If it is safe and practical to do so, bury the bird at least 600 mm deep to reduce the risk of other animals digging it up. Choose a site at least 30 m from waterways, and avoid burying birds near drains, bores or areas prone to flooding. 

Dispose of it in your general rubbish 

Check with your local council or waste management provider first to confirm whether a bird carcass can go in your general rubbish. Rules and collection requirements can differ depending on where you live. If general rubbish disposal is allowed, follow their instructions for safe bagging, handling and collection.

If bird deaths occur on a farm, lifestyle block, aviary or commercial bird operation, disposal of carcasses may require an offal pit that complies with the Greater Wellington Natural Resources Plan. 

Before using any on-property disposal method, check MPI’s current bird flu guidance and reporting requirements. MPI may recommend a different disposal method depending on the situation. 

Offal pits are for the disposal of dead animals and animal parts from the property where the offal pit is located only. They are not the same as farm refuse pits, which are for associated waste such as used PPE, bags or other contaminated materials, not carcasses. 

A new offal pit can be constructed as a permitted activity (i.e., does not require consent) under Rule R79 of the Natural Resources Plan provided all conditions of the rule are complied with at all times.   

The NRP can be found in full here. (PDF 94 MB)

Construction of the offal pit cannot involve earthworks of an area greater than 3,000 m2, or it will require resource consent for earthworks.  

Before digging an offal pit, you should check the following to make sure you comply with the conditions below. If you’re still unsure, contact us on 0800 496 734. 

• The distance of the site from any surface water bodies, including streams and creeks, wetlands, and the ocean  
• The distance of the site from any bore, including a stock or irrigation bore  
• If the area is prone to flooding or ponding (ask: after rain, does the soil stay saturated, or is the area often boggy? If so, this indicates the area is prone to flooding and ponding) 
• The composition of soils. Soils must be silt or clay (to check, pick up some soil and roll it around in your hand. Soil shouldn’t feel gritty, and should clump together and hold its shape) 
• What is the water table like throughout the year? If you are a large site (e.g., a poultry farm), you can get in contact with Greater Wellington for our hydrologists to assess the site for suitability 
• If the site is within a community drinking water protection area. You can check with our geographic mapping information.   

Once the pit has been dug, you must: 

• Prevent stormwater from entering the pit. This can be done by constructing a bund (raised earth) around the mouth of the pit.  
• Record the location of the pit so you can provide this to Greater Wellington if requested  
• Check that any smell from the pit is not offensive past the boundary of your property (including your neighbours and the road) 

Once the pit has been dug, you must: 

• Prevent stormwater from entering the pit. This can be done by constructing a bund (raised earth) around the mouth of the pit  
• Record the location of the pit so you can provide this to Greater Wellington if requested  
• Check that any smell from the pit is not offensive past the boundary of your property (including your neighbours and the road) 

Once you are done disposing of material, you must: 

• Re-contour and revegetate the pit  

If any of the above can’t be done, or you can’t find a suitable location for your offal pit, you must contact Greater Wellington and ask for further advice. You may have to investigate alternative methods of disposal.  

The Natural Resources Plan defines property as any contiguous area of land including adjacent land separated by a road or river, held in one ownership and may include one or more records of title. Except that in the case of land subdivided under the Unit Title Act 1972 or 2010 or a cross-lease system, a property is the whole of the land subject to the unit development or cross lease. 

This means that if your property is located across multiple parcels of land, or is separated by a road or waterbody, we consider all these parcels of land as a single property. 

Advice/considerations: 

• Dig a pit specifically for birds found on your property. Avoid using your pre-existing offal pit. This means that the pit can be closed up as soon as this outbreak is over.  
• If possible, bag carcasses before disposing of them.  
• Cover open pits to deter vermin and scavenging animals. 

Rule R79: Offal pit – permitted activity 

The discharge of contaminants onto or into land, or onto or into land where a contaminant may enter water, and the associated discharge of odour to air, from a new offal pit is a permitted activity, provided that the following conditions are met: 

(a) the offal pit shall only contain dead animal matter from the property where the offal pit is located, and 

(b) the offal pit shall not be located within: 

(i) 50m of a surface water body, coastal marine area, or bore used for water abstraction for potable supply, and 

(ii) an area prone to flooding or ponding, and 

(c) the offal pit shall be located in silty or clay soils, and 

(d) the bottom of the offal pit is 0.6m above the seasonally highest water table, and 

(e) stormwater is prevented from entering the offal pit, and 

(f) the location is recorded, by GPS or mapped to an accuracy of at least 50m at a scale of 1:50,000; and a copy of this information is made available to the Wellington Regional Council upon request, and 

(g) the offal pit is re-contoured and re-vegetated to a condition that is compatible with the surrounding land within six months of completion, and 

(h) the discharge of odour is not offensive or objectionable beyond the boundary of the property, and 

(i) the offal pit is not located in a community water drinking water protection area as shown on Map 39, Map 40, Map 41, Map 42 and Map 43.

You may want to dispose of waste associated with dead birds, such as used PPE, bags or other contaminated materials, in a farm refuse pit on your property. A farm refuse pit is different from an offal pit. It can be used for some farm waste, but it cannot be used to dispose of bird carcasses. 

Farm refuse pits are for the disposal of household and/or farm waste from the property where the farm refuse pit is located. You cannot dispose of animal carcasses in a farm refuse pit. Carcasses must be disposed of through an appropriate method, such as an offal pit if all conditions are met, or another method recommended by MPI or Greater Wellington. 

Farm refuse pits must also comply with the Greater Wellington Natural Resources Plan. The Natural Resources Plan can be found in full here. (PDF 94 MB)

Construction of the farm refuse pit cannot involve earthworks of an area greater than 3,000 m2, or it will require resource consent for earthworks.  

• You can only construct a farm refuse pit if 
• Your property is >20 ha in size 

No kerbside collection is available, or the property is located more than 20 km by road from a transfer station 

A new farm refuse pit can be constructed as a permitted activity (i.e., does not require consent) under Rule R78 of the Natural Resources Plan provided all conditions of the rule are complied with at all times. 

Before digging a farm refuse pit, you should check the following to make sure you comply with these conditions: 

• The distance of the site from any surface water bodies, including streams and creeks, wetlands, and the ocean  
• The distance of the site from any bore, including a stock or irrigation bore  
• If the area is prone to flooding or ponding (ask: after rain, does the soil stay saturated, or is the area often boggy? If so, this indicates the area is prone to flooding and ponding) 
• The composition of soils. Soils must be silt or clay (to check, pick up some soil and roll it around in your hand. Soil shouldn’t feel gritty, and should clump together and hold its shape) 
• What is the water table like throughout the year? If you are a large site (e.g., a poultry farm), you can get in contact with Greater Wellington for our hydrologists to assess the site for suitability 
• If the site is within a community drinking water protection area. You can check with our geographic mapping information. 

Our rules state discharge from the farm refuse pit may not contain hazardous discharge. Discharge from PPE or poultry waste may be hazardous. Because of this, we recommend you line the refuse pit, or bag all material before disposing of it in the pit.  

You may not burn any material in the farm refuse pit.  

The total volume of farm refuse pit capacity available on a property at any time must not exceed 50 m3. 

Once the pit has been dug, you must: 

• Record the location of the pit so you can provide this to Greater Wellington if requested  
• Check that any smell from the pit is not offensive past the boundary of your property (including your neighbours and the road) 

Once you are done disposing of material, you must: 

• Re-contour and revegetate the pit  

If any of the above can’t be done, or you can’t find a suitable location for your farm refuse pit, you must contact Greater Wellington and ask for further advice. You may have to investigate alternative methods of disposal.  

The Natural Resources Plan defines property as any contiguous area of land including adjacent land separated by a road or river, held in one ownership and may include one or more records of title. Except that in the case of land subdivided under the Unit Title Act 1972 or 2010 or a cross-lease system, a property is the whole of the land subject to the unit development or cross lease. 

This means that if your property is located across multiple parcels of land, or is separated by a road or waterbody, we consider all these parcels of land as a single property. 

Rule R78: Farm refuse dumps – permitted activity 

The discharge of contaminants onto or into land, or into land where a contaminant may enter water, and the associated discharge of odour to air, from a new farm refuse dump is a permitted activity, provided the following conditions are met: 

(a) the contents of the farm refuse dump is from the property where the farm refuse dump is located, and 

(b) the total volume of farm refuse dump capacity available on a property at any time shall not exceed 50m³, and 

(c) the farm refuse dump is located: 

(i) on a property that is over 20ha, or 

(ii) in a hole excavated in silty or clay soils, or 

(iii) where no kerbside community collection is available or the property is located more than 20km by road from a transfer station, and 

(d) the farm refuse dump is not located within: 

(i) an area prone to flooding or ponding, or 

(ii) 50m of a surface water body, coastal marine area, gully, bore used for water abstraction for potable supply, or boundary of the property, or 

(iii) a community drinking water supply protection area as shown on Map 39, Map 40, Map 41, Map 42 or Map 43, and 

(e) the base of the farm refuse dump is 0.6m above the seasonally highest water table, and 

(f) the discharge does not contain: 

(i) hazardous substances, or 

(ii) wastewater, and 

(g) there is no burning of the contents of a farm refuse dump, and 

(h) the size and location is recorded, using GPS or mapped to an accuracy of at least 50m at a scale of 1:50,000; and a copy of this information made available to the Wellington Regional Council upon request, and 

(i) the farm refuse dump is re-contoured and re-vegetated to a condition that is compatible with the surrounding land within six months of completion, and 

(j) the discharge of odour is not offensive or objectionable beyond the boundary of the property.