Photo credit: Dylan Higgison.

This email was originally sent Tuesday 1 September. Due to technical difficulties, not every recipient received this update. I apologise if you have received this email twice, or for any inconvenience the delay in receiving this email may have caused. 

You are receiving this Himalayan tahr control programme update as you have requested information about the Department of Conservation’s wild animal control programmes.

Tēnā koe,

The Department of Conservation (DOC) has released its reconsidered Tahr Control Operational Plan for 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 (Operational Plan).

Questions and answers related to the decision are available on DOC’s Tahr Control Operations webpage.

A full list of documents related to the consultation process and decision have been released today. You can find a link to these documents at the bottom of this email.

Decision summary:

In developing the reconsidered Operational Plan, DOC took into account its legal obligations, materials it provided to stakeholders in advance of a meeting with them, and oral and written submissions from 14 stakeholders.

While DOC considered all stakeholders’ request for changes to the annual Operational Plan, we acknowledge the finalised plan will not completely satisfy all stakeholders, as submitters sought very different outcomes.

New elements of the reconsidered Operational Plan include:

•    A formal assurance that DOC will avoid targeting tahr in popular recreational hunting areas located outside the national parks’ management unit.

•    DOC will explore options to improve opportunities for recreational hunting, guided hunting, and commercial recovery of tahr. This will include options to extend the tahr ballot, options to improve hunter access, the provision of maps with information on bull sightings and easy-to-access areas with high tahr numbers, as well as communication with hunting permit holders.

•    DOC is committed to learning as it goes. We will invite the Game Animal Council to a discussion on the operational results of control to date. DOC will consider the Council’s advice in determining the operational detail of work for the remaining control effort outside the national parks’ management unit.

•    DOC will urgently progress plans to work with Ngāi Tahu, researchers and stakeholders to develop an integrated research and monitoring programme by 10 December 2020. The implementation of this programme will begin over summer.

•    DOC’s discussion with the Game Animal Council will include whether to cease all further planned control in the Wills, Makarora and Hunter areas (Management Unit 7). 
 

DOC’s reconsidered Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2020/2021 seeks to achieve the following key objectives:

•    Targeting all tahr in Aoraki/Mt Cook and Westland Tai Poutini National Parks to the lowest practicable densities to protect and preserve these special places.

•    Controlling high densities of female and juvenile tahr across the tahr feral range to reduce tahr impacts and population spread, while leaving smaller groups and identifiable males outside the national parks for hunters.

•    Important control outside the tahr feral range to stop the geographical range of tahr from expanding.

•    Working with Land Information New Zealand to understand tahr numbers on Crown pastoral leases. 

DOC will achieve this by:

•    Undertaking up to another 132 hours of control inside the feral range. (DOC has already completed 118 hours since mid-July). 

•    DOC will consider the Game Animal Council’s advice in determining the operational detail of work for the remaining control effort outside the national parks’ management unit. Control work in the national parks will proceed while this occurs.

•    Outside the feral range, DOC will target all tahr to stop the geographical range expanding. 

There is no plan to eradicate tahr and there will continue to be thousands of tahr for recreational and commercial hunting across 425,000 ha of public conservation land outside the National Parks, as well as another 133,000 ha of Crown pastoral lease and private land.

Decision documents:

We have released the Decision Document and all information Deputy Director-General Mike Slater considered before making his decision to approve the revised Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2020/21.

These documents outline the consultation process, submissions, analysis and how the Tahr Control Operational Plan was reconsidered.

The documents we have released are:

•    Decision Document: Reconsideration of the Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020/21.

•    Tahr Control Operational Plan: 1 July 2020 - 30 June 2021 (reconsidered after consultation).

Documents related to the consultation process and decision:

•    High Court judgment from July 2020 on the Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020/21.

•    Information that DOC used to inform its decision on the reconsidered Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020/21.

•    Himalayan Thar Control Plan 1993 (includes the Policy).

•    Section 4 and 43 of the National Parks Act.

•    Groups that DOC consulted with on the reconsideration of the Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020/21.

•    Written Submissions on the reconsideration of the Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020/21.

•    Submission analysis on the reconsideration of the Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020/21.

•    Submission decision summary on the reconsideration of the Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020/21

Control to date:

Following a legal challenge on the original Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2020/2021, a decision from the High Court allowed DOC to complete up to 125 hours of aerial
tahr-control while consulting stakeholders on the plan. 

We have completed 118 hours of control and have recently published maps showing the locations of more than 1000 observations of bull tahr that have been left for hunters. The area we have flown is less than 15% of 425,000ha of public conservation land located within the feral range, but outside the national parks’ management unit.

Thank you again for your interest in the tahr control programme and the reconsideration of the Tahr Control Operational Plan. While we have not replied individually to emails, we do appreciate your feedback and we will continue to keep you informed.

Ngā mihi nui,

Dr Ben Reddiex

Operations Director

Additional information and previous updates:

Previous tahr updates to hunting permit holders:

• 27 August 2020 (external site)
• 14 August 2020 (external site)
• 14 July 2020 (external site)
• Visit the Himalayan tahr webpage
• See the observations of bull tahr and other maps