📷: Roin Miller, Southern Lakes NZDA.
With just weeks to go in the National Wild Goat Hunting Competition, it’s time to start getting all your entries in.
Whanganui has made the biggest contribution so far, entering nearly twice as many wild goat tails as the next closest region.
Overall entries to the competition, run by us and the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association, were up to 5,574 tails as of October 24 – more than 2,000 higher than at the same point in last year’s competition.
Why the competition matters?
Wild goats are prolific breeders, and we cannot manage numbers alone. The competition aims to encourage hunters and landowners to get involved and help reduce the damage they cause to the environment.
They can strip out the young growth in forests, affecting the forest’s ability to regenerate. They target certain plants, changing the overall composition of the forest and impacting all native species living in the ecosystem. In severe cases, can threaten forest collapse.
While participating please use firearms safely, keep safe in the back country, and practice ethical and humane hunting. While we need to manage numbers, it’s important to respect wildlife and the environment, and ensure kills are humane.
📷: Karl Drury.
📷: NZ Hunter
Regional Standing: Where will be the G.O.A.T?
While the overall competition numbers are amazing, some areas are doing better than others in the unofficial contest to be named the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) at protecting their local forests.
The Whanganui region is currently leading entries by far with 851 tails entered as of October 24, significantly clear of the 444 entries from North Taranaki. Rounding out the top five regions are North Otago with 312 tails, Wairarapa with 292 tails, and Te Kuiti with 282 tails.
We know there are plenty of wild goats in some places that are lower down the regional leaderboard.
In the South Island, there are high numbers of wild goats in parts of the West Coast, Nelson, Marlborough, and Kaikōura. Further north, wild goats are abundant in parts of Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki King Country, Coromandel, and Greater Wellington.
The top five regions so far:
- Whanganui – 851 tails
- North Taranaki – 444 tails
- North Otago – 312 tails
- Wairarapa – 292 tails
- Te Kuiti – 282 tails
Info on where you can hunt wild goats on public conservation land is available here: Hunting: Things to do
Supporting local events
There’s also been some great local events to support the competition. In Punakaiki on the West Coast, the Bush to Belly event on October 19 had demonstrations on how to butcher a wild goat, a range of tasty wild goat recipes for people to try, talks about hunter and firearms safety, and info on our work to protect the environment from wild goats.
In Hamilton, the competition was at the Sika Show on the 2 and 3 November. Dariush Lolaiy, chef and co-owner of the wild food specialist restaurant Cazador demonstrated a simple wild goat meatball recipe, and people who entered at the show won some extra prizes from our sponsors Huntech and Te Tari Pūreke Firearms Safety Authority.
In Kaitaia, a Wild Kai and Korero Event is being held on the 9 November where people will connect and korero over a buffet of wild goat created by Chef Josh Tatu. Inspiring guest speakers will be talking about protecting the mauri of the ngāhere.
📷: Fiona Anderson, DOC.
📷: Fiona Anderson, DOC.
Get your tails in – there’s still time
Get your tails in – there’s still time
The competition closes on November 26, so there’s still time to get some tails in and give your region a boost.
As well as helping your region take unofficial honours, by entering you’re also putting yourself in the draw for some great prizes. Spot more wild goats using the new R3 binoculars from Bushnell, make some delicious meals using your wild goat with a Traeger grill, or pick up some skills when on a guided hunting trip with the New Zealand Professional Hunting Guides Association.
Big thanks to all of our 2024 sponsors:
- Founding sponsor Hunting & Fishing (external site).
- Major sponsors Huntech (external site), Nocpix (external site).
- Supporting sponsors Traeger Grills (external site), Backcountry Cuisine (external site), NZ Hunter (external site), Te Tari Pūreke Firearms Safety Authority (external site), Bushnell (external site), New Zealand Professional Hunting Guides Association (external site).
For more about the competition, check out the National Wild Goat Hunting Competition webpage.
