New Zealand Proposes Stricter Laws On Public Defecation

An activity called “freedom camping” is being blamed for an increase in used toilet paper and human excrement littering popular tourist destinations in New Zealand.

New Zealand is perfectly fine with you pooping and peeing in public, as long as you make sure you aren’t being watched. But more restrictions on doing your business outdoors may be coming to the island nation soon.

Freedom Camping is camping on public land without paying a fee and is an activity quickly growing in popularity in New Zealand. In 2019, the year before the country shut down tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 245,000 freedom campers enjoyed New Zealand’s famous landscapes while “freedom camping.” Of those, only 91,000 were Kiwis, indicating freedom camping is becoming a major tourist attraction for the small country.

However, it is also causing problems, something the Responsible Campers Association (RCA) wants to fix by adding more regulations on where freedom campers do their personal business and what they do with it after they are done.

The association wants new rules mandating that excrement must be buried at least 15cm (5.9 inches) and must be done at least 15 meters (49.2 feet) away from the nearest waterway.

The plea comes after multiple localities banned freedom campers from popular destinations because of a perceived increase in human waste and toilet paper being left at sites around the country. The issue became so heated that New Zealand’s tourism minister Stuart Nash told Radio New Zealand that freedom campers “pull over to the side of the road and … s*** in our waterways.”

The spokesperson for the RCA, Bob Osborne, says that blaming freedom campers is unfair. “There is no evidence linking any specific group to this undesirable practice which affects travelers all over New Zealand,” he said.

While the RCA advocates for a more permanent solution of more public restrooms, Osborne says that in the meantime, mitigation of the worst side effects of public defecation can be a solution, namely burying excrement and toilet paper and keeping it out of water sources. The association also stresses that campers should not be punished for the actions of a few bad apples, and that bad behavior should be punished, not camping itself.

Technically, public defecation is an offense in New Zealand that can result in a $200 fine, but that fine will be waived if the offender can show they had reason to believe no one could see them doing their business. Nash will be introducing new regulations to parliament later this year, including harsher fines for bad behavior and restrictions on where freedom campers can park.

With COVID-19 restrictions on tourism being lifted in the country, 2022 is expected to be a big year for freedom camping in New Zealand. With unburied defecation still allowed under law, campers are advised to watch where they step.