Editorial policy

This directory is only useful if you can trust it. So here, plainly, is how it runs and exactly where money does and does not reach. If anything below stops being true, this page changes.

Every outfitter is listed free

Inclusion is not for sale. Operations are listed because they guide in New Zealand, not because they paid to appear. A free listing is the default, and most listings are exactly that.

Nothing on this site is for sale

We do not charge outfitters to be listed, to rank higher, or to carry any badge. There is no paid tier, no sponsored slot, and no advertising. If that changes, this page changes first, and it will say exactly what is being sold and to whom.

How listings are ordered

Listings are ordered by how complete they are: how much of the profile has actually been filled in, such as a cover photo, gallery, description, species, region and contact details. The more complete the listing, the higher it sits. Ties are broken alphabetically. That order is computed in our code from each listing's own contents, never arranged by hand.

Completeness is free to earn. Any outfitter can claim their listing and fill it out at no cost, and doing so is the only way to move up. How much room a listing gets on the page also follows from what we hold: an operation that has sent photos and detail gets more space to show it. That is assigned by us on the material, never sold.

The home-page spotlight follows the same rule. It is not sold and not hand-picked.

What money never touches

No outfitter pays us, so no outfitter can buy coverage, a badge, or a position. Our editorial judgement, the NZPHGA badge and the Verified mark are ours alone. If we ever earn money in a way that touches an operator on this site, we will say so here, on this page, before it happens.

The NZPHGA badge reflects real membership

Where we show an "NZPHGA Member" badge, that outfitter is a current Outfitter or Guide member of the New Zealand Professional Hunting Guides Association. It is drawn from their real membership status, never sold as a feature, and it is a credential you can confirm yourself with the association.

Verified means we have been there

"Verified" is our own stamp. When it launches it will mean one specific thing: someone from the directory has visited the operation in person and checked it against a published checklist. It is not automated, not bought, and not granted on an operator's word alone. Until that rollout, no listing carries an active Verified mark.

Getting the details right

We build unclaimed listings from public information, so some details will be incomplete or out of date. If something is wrong, tell us and we will correct it, or remove a listing on request. Outfitters can claim their listing to manage it directly.

Questions

Anything about how the directory works, write to hello@newzealandhunt.com.