Press Release – Department of Conservation The Department of Conservations (DOC) new plan to manage Himalayan tahr lays the groundwork for hunters to play a bigger part in tahr management in future years. DOCs Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2021/22 was developed during five months …
The Department of Conservation’s (DOC) new plan to manage Himalayan tahr lays the groundwork for hunters to play a bigger part in tahr management in future years.
DOC’s Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2021/22 was developed during five months of engagement with tahr stakeholders including hunting and conservation groups. DOC received valuable contributions from stakeholders in written submissions and two meetings.
Holborow said a survey being undertaken would give detailed information on tahr numbers in the South Rakaia/Rangitata and the Gammack/Two Thumb management units, including the gender balance of the local tahr population. While welcoming the management plan GAC general manager Tim Gale said they were still committed to developing a long-term management programme. “We worked closely with DOC and stakeholder groups in the development of this plan and provided constructive science-based recommendations to help inform it. “We believe the more collaborative process the DOC has embarked on, has resulted in a better-balanced programme of tahr management for 2021-22.”
“Hunters and other recreationists can expect to see helicopters flying at low levels for 20 to 30 minutes at a time monitoring all tahr observed within 2km by 2km grids. This work is weather dependent and will likely be carried out in the early morning and late evening. Tahr, valued by hunters as a trophy animal, are also known to cause major damage on conservation land to native flora and fauna and between 2016 and Autumn 2019, DOC estimated their population to be about 34,500 on public conservation land alone. DOC’s Himalayan Tahr Control Plan stipulates there should be a limit of 10,000 tahr across the 706,000ha of private land, Crown pastoral leases and public conservation land known as the “feral range”, while the plan also says there should be “zero density” of tahr within national park units.