Wild Goat Hunting New Zealand
South Pacific Goat (Capra hircus)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Artiodactyla
- Suborder: Caprinae
- Family: Bovidae
- Genus: Capra
- Species: C. hircus
Goats were released by the early whalers and sealers to supply food should they become shipwrecked.
These gregarious animals spread like wildfire and are now found in huge numbers in many areas. Feral goats are widespread throughout New Zealand, and come in every conceivable size, shape and color
They grow horns up to forty-five inches in spread and make a desirable addition to any trophy collection.
Many hunters enjoy a goat hunt as a change to the rigors of deer hunting. For one thing you get to see lot of animals during the course of a day and they can be most difficult to get within shooting range. They are regarded as a pest and many a young hunter has been blooded on wild goats.
They don't like wet weather and tend to found lying in the sun high on rocky faces especially after a period of unsettled weather. They are at home on steep hill slopes, rocky crags and coastal cliffs and occur in scattered pockets throughout the country. Numbers are controlled by professional culling as their rapid spread has earned them the status of a national pest. Large billy goats carry a good spread of horns (up to 1.2 metres long), which make a worthy trophy.
