Queen Charlotte ungulate control operation complete

The Trust has completed a third control operation targeting feral deer, goats and pigs across the north side of Queen Charlotte Sound, netting a total of 174 deer, 270 goats and 32 pigs between Endeavour Inlet and Lochmara Bay.

In total, 667 deer, 597 goats and 103 pigs have now been removed across three operations on the north side of Queen Charlotte Sound since 2022 (pictured).

“The numbers of wild animals being removed is eye-watering - we have reached a total of 1,367 wild animals over about 5,000ha and we’re not even close to reaching the bottom of the barrel,” says Trust programme manager, Andrew Macalister. “It is clear evidence that wild animal numbers have got out of hand in the Sounds to the detriment of native forest condition, water quality and slope stability.”

“What we are doing is a population reset. We are trying to get the populations of deer and goats down from those really high and damaging numbers, to a level where they are not destroying the forest and, hopefully to a level where recreational hunters can manage the population into the future.”

This year’s control was a combination of aerial shooting (primarily targeting deer) and ground hunting (primarily targeting goats) - both delivered by professional hunting contractors. This has been supplemented with targeted control from the Marlborough branch of the NZ Deerstalkers Assn and the Marlborough Pig Hunting Club. “It is great to have local hunters on board with the programme,” Mr Macalister says. “Recreational hunting plays an important role in managing wild animal numbers but they clearly can’t do it alone when numbers are so high.”

The $100,000 operation was almost entirely funded by Sounds landowners, with logistical support from DOC and seed funding from the Marlborough District Council’s Working for Nature programme.

Mr Macalister says the Trust is committed to protecting the gains that have been made, if funding can be found, and hopes adjoining landowners and land managers come on board to expand the area under protection.