South Island firearms owners, especially those from the Southern and Canterbury Police districts, are leading the way in the new Firearm Registry.
Licenced firearms owners across the country have responded well to the Registry, with it taking just seven months to get to the 100,000th firearm recorded into the system. This is from nearly ten percent of the approximately 235,000 licence holders in New Zealand.
Te Tari Pūreke – Firearms Safety Authority Executive Director, Angela Brazier, says she’d like to thank all responsible firearms owners who have filled in the Registry. So far, Canterbury is the area with the highest number of firearms registered with 14,289 and Southern is a close second with 12,616. The South Island is really leading the way.
Ms Brazier says, “This result isn’t surprising as at the end of December 2023, there were 35,510 firearms licence holders in the Canterbury District, and 32,165 in Southern, which are the two largest concentrations of firearms licence holders in the country.
“The Firearms Registry is all about preventing firearms getting into the wrong hands. Digitising the licencing system enhances our ability to detect unlawful and criminal activity.
“Along with preventing the sale and purchase of stolen firearms, the Registry provides a better way for Police to trace where firearms used by criminals have come from.”
Disrupting the flow of firearms to criminals works in tandem with other Policing initiatives that target organised criminal groups and gangs. These separate but complementary strategies are together making it harder for criminals to possess and use firearms and are making our communities safer.
“When fully rolled out, the Registry will provide a picture of all lawfully held firearms and arms items in New Zealand. This will give greater transparency when firearms are changing hands and ultimately make the availability of firearms to the black market more difficult,” Ms Brazier says.
To register your firearms online head to or give us a call on 0800 844 431 (Monday to Friday 8.30am-5pm, except public holidays).
