Wild deer into the Egmont National Park
May 20th, 2006 by Administrator
The deliberate introduction of wild deer into the Egmont National Park could have disastrous effects, says the Department of Conservation.
An intensive hunting effort by DOC staff on Mt Taranaki has confirmed several deer have made their way into the park.
“However they’ve got there, the presence of deer on the mountain is a potential catastrophe if not quickly controlled,” DOC Stratford area manager Robert Bennett said.
He said the Egmont National Park had been free of feral deer for many years.
He suspected someone wanting to establish a herd on the mountain for recreational hunting may have released the animals.
“It is a very irresponsible thing to do. The nationally important conservation values of the park are at risk.”
DOC had spent taxpayer funds on extensive goat and possum control programmes, leading to significant forest regeneration and improved ecosystem health, he said.
“All the investment, effort and time gone into reducing the pest population has been compromised by people intentionally releasing other species into the park.
“There’s male and female deer, so if we don’t get on top of them quickly there’s a possibility they’ll begin to bred.”
He said the park covered 33,000ha of rugged land.
“We may well lose the opportunity and then we’ll have to maintain a programme to keep deer numbers down.
“That money could otherwise be spent on things like improving the track network.”
He said the mountain was the catchment for domestic water supplies and degradation of the understorey caused by deer threatened the quality and supply.
DOC would intensify deer control operations, including ground hunting with rifles and indicator dogs, and aerial shooting.
Mr Bennett said the park would not be opened to recreational hunting because it could compromise planned operations and make early eradication more difficult.
The last introduction of a pest into the park was pigs in the Kaitake Ranges in 1990, he said.
“It took us a number of years to round that group up and we continue to maintain surveillance for pigs.”
Taranaki Regional Animal Health Committee chairman Donald McIntyre was annoyed to hear deer had got into the park. “Obviously they have been released there because deer have been eradicated from the Egmont National Park previously.”
He said wild deer were capable of spreading bovine TB to other animals, such as possums, who can in turn transmit the disease to livestock.
“It is a big issue. Taranaki is TB free and has been for a number of years.
“Egmont National Park is right in the centre of Taranaki and the prime dairying heartland.”
He said the deer on the mountain came from unknown origins and might not have been tested for the disease.
Releasing the animals was thoughtless and irresponsible, he said.
There are provisions under the National Parks Act to prosecute people releasing pests in or near the park.