Tahr numbers soar

The central South

Island’s Himalayan tahr population is skyrocketing out of control, according to Forest and Bird. There’s been pushback to a DoC plan to cull the goat-like animals from groups claiming it will devastate hunting tourism. But Forest and Bird says years of reliance on hunters to control the population, has led to Tahr levels about five times higher than the agreed 10,000. A spokesman says they chomp through native plants at speed.