AGREEMENT REACHED ON WILD HORSE COUNT

  • Nick Smith
Conservation

The Minister of Conservation, Nick Smith, announced today that the Department of Conservation will conduct a count of the Kaimanawa Horses over Easter, dependent upon fine weather. This will enable decisions to be made on the future management of the herd.

"Last year serious disagreement between the Department and the Kaimanawa wild horse groups over the number of horses added to the controversy over the management of the horses. After consulting with The Wild Horse Trust, we have reached agreement on the basis of the census and the trust will join Department of Conservation staff in conducting the census. An observer from the trust will be on board a helicopter as it surveys the land where the horses are currently located. This is a good first step forward in working through the issues of how to manage the Kaimanawa Wild Horses."

The government coalition agreement states that there is to be a "thorough census of Kaimanawa horse population". The count will be conducted using a variety of techniques designed to give independent checks of accuracy. They include:

aerial transect (strip count)
aerial transect (distance measurement)
aerial transect (infra red strip count) and
ground transect (distance measurement).
These techniques provide some key improvements to the methodology used in past years and improve the level of confidence in the population estimates. Input into the methodology has been received from Landcare Research, Massey University and the Department of Conservation's Science and Research staff.

"It is acknowledged that this count will not give an exact number of horses. However, this improved methodology will give a better estimate from which to make informed decisions about the future of the wild horse herd."

Any decisions on the future of the Kaimanawa Wild Horses will be taken after the census results have been collated and reported back to the Minister of Conservation.

"Due to animal welfare considerations, any decisions about the size and scale of a muster need to be made by the end of April."