The Tahr Foundation says it is extremely disappointed supporters of the plan to decimate tahr herds are misleading the public by deliberately using out of date tahr population figures.

The Tahr Foundation has applied for a High Court injunction to halt the Minister of Conservation’s plan to decimate New Zealand’s remaining tahr herd.

The mass kill is due to start on 1 July.

Foundation spokesperson Willie Duley says Forest and Bird are being disingenuous by continuing to use out-dated figures to back the killing.

Willie Duley says despite knowing better, our opponents are persisting with their claims that there are 35,000 tahr on public conservation land.

“That just isn’t true,” says Mr Duley.

“That figure dates back to 2018. Since then, hunters have stepped in and helped DOC reduce tahr numbers to an estimated total of 20,000 animals with a breeding nanny population of only around 5,000.”

Willie Duley says Forest and Bird are well aware of this significant reduction in the tahr herd but continue to use the outdated figures to strengthen their case.

“The Tahr Foundation respects Forest and Bird and the good work it does helping to conserve New Zealand’s indigenous species, but we cannot let this kind of misinformation go unchallenged.”

“It is an attempt to totally mislead New Zealanders by peddling numbers that no longer exist.”

“We want to see future tahr management based on sound science, the facts and taking into account the values of all stakeholders,” says Mr Duley.

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