‘Limited shooting’ of Arapawa goats

Press, 29 April 1978, Page 11

‘Limited shooting’ of Arapawa goats

Forest Service cullers will move on to Arapawa Island, in the Marlborough Sounds, about the end of next month to begin shooting wild goats and sheep along, the coastal strip. The Nelson Conservator of Forests, (Mr . W. Mapelsden) confirmed this, after bering asked to comment about an allegation by the secretary of the Arapawa Island Wildlife Trust (Mr A. A. Adcock) that the service would begin a “panic action’’ within two weeks to exterminate animals on the island.

Mr Maplesden said that it was most unlikely that culling would begin before the end of May, because all adjoining landowners had to be notified. In any case, the programme would cover only a small part of the island. The programme was at the request of the Marl*

borough Sounds Maritime Park Board, and would take place only on the land under control of that board. This was a coastal strip on the Cook Strait side of the island and was only a limited part of the range of the feral goats and sheep. The cullers would try to shoot as many of the feral animals as possible within this area, but the terrain — steep gullies and ravines and dense bush —

and the limited resources available meant that total eradication would not be possible, even if desirable, and the animals elsewhere on the island would not be disturbed.

The programme would help establish what damage the animals were doing to the native coastal forest, and their influence on its regeneration. After consultation with the Botany Division of the D.S.I.R. control plots had been fenced off throughout

the park board's area to exclude the browsing animals. In this waymeasurement of forest regeneration could be made at three levels; the plots from which the animals were completely excluded. the rest of’ the park where culling had reduced numbers; and the other parts of the island, where the natural level of goat and sheep population remained.

However, the Arapawa Island Wildlife Trust is dismayed about imminent culling.

Mr Adcock said the trust viewed the culling “as an irresponsible panic action by the Forest Ser* vice to exterminate the animals from the island." Members of Parliament .should insist that the programme be delayed to give the trust time to set up a sanctuary, fenced off from farm and reserve land on the island, to enclose the sheep and goats.