Whats New and Who to Call for New Zealand Tahr and Chamois

Tahr and chamois in New Zealand are only found on the tall peaks that run right up the middle of the South Island (called "the mainland" by residents), dividing the drier East Coast from the wetter West. In the case of tahr, there is an extra restriction on where within the Southern Alps they can live. A "tahr zone," a prescribed portion of the central South Island where no more than 10,000 tahr may reside, has been imposed to limit the spread of this species. Animals outside the zone are shot on sight. Chamois have no such restriction on them and occur over a much wider range. Historically, free-range tahr and chamois populations were larger on the West Coast but, at least in the case of tahr, the balance is much more even today. A number of factors favor the East Coast for visiting hunters. A general terrain and weather description would be that the East Coast is flatter to rolling terrain, primarily tussock covered, drier and experiences longer periods of stable weather. On the East Coast there are several large, private, high-country ranches offering good populations of tahr in particular. Conversely, the West Coast is steep and rugged, experiences wild weather, and is clothed in dense rain forest and scrub. Regular, moisture-laden north-westerly winds moving across the Tasman Sea bring torrential rain and create low clouds and mist on the tops. Hunting can be put on hold for days due to the weather. Most of the hunting country on the West Coast is public land, vast in size and difficult to access. The practical reality for overseas hunters is that the West Coast is primarily a short-term hunting adventure rather than a place to hunt from. A West Coast alpine adventure will usually consist of an aerial trophy hunt. Aerial trophy hunting is described by the Department of Conservation (DOC) on its website in this way: "Aerially-assisted trophy hunting (AATH)  also known as heli-hunting  involves flying recreational hunters and their guides into high-country areas by helicopter in search of trophy animals. The name aerially-assisted trophy hunting is in line with the........(continued)