After consulting with the Game Animal Council, the Department of Conservation (DOC) has announced in addition to 55 hours flying time to control tahr in national parks, it will devote up to 77 flying hours to hunt animals in less accessible areas of their feral range.
The two main areas to be targeted are Landsborough near Haast and South Whitcombe Whataroa on the West Coast side of the Southern Alps.
Operations director Dr Ben Reddiex says outside the national parks, DOC is avoiding popular hunting spots and huts and focusing on less accessible locations where tahr have reached high densities.
“Animal numbers can easily build up in the dense, rugged and scrubby West Coast terrain which is less suitable for ground hunting,” he said.
“For example, we are still regularly finding groups of up to 30 tahr in the Landsborough where access is challenging.”
Control has been completed in the Wills, Makarora and Hunter regions and planned control in the South Rakaia and Upper Rangitata has been reduced as it is favoured by ground hunters.
Reddiex says DOC is pursuing a targeted control programme and has no eradication plans.
“Within the feral range, and outside of the national parks’ management unit, we’re only targeting high densities of female and juvenile tahr,” he said.
“We’re also avoiding areas around huts and the ballot landing sites.
“We will continue to leave identifiable male tahr for hunters outside of the national parks’ management unit.
“Plans are also progressing to improve hunter access where possible, including extending the popular tahr ballot.”
