Executive Summary
The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Working Party concluded there are four aspects to resolving the conflicts surrounding management of the Kaimanawa wild horses. They are:
- Eliminating the impacts of the horses on important conservation values,
- Ensuring all treatment of the horses is humane,
- Establishing ways to preserve and control the horse herd long term to eliminate the negative and retain the positive values they have,
- Deciding who is best to carry out long term management.
Many of the recommendations proposed relate to policy rather than practical applications of wild horse management. These recommendations therefore require follow up work before they can be implemented.
1. Eliminating the Impacts of the Horses on Important Conservation Values.
A need to remove all the horses from parts of the district and management problems in other areas have led the working party to propose a zero density area covering about 70% of the current range.
A relocation of 300 horses to an area of outside the current range has been proposed to see if a relocated herd retains the intrinsic values currently associated with the wild herd.
Further research is needed to determine if a reduced herd can coexist within the modified red tussock ecosystem in the south of the range. The majority of the horses are found in the Argo zone. It is in this area that a herd of approximately 500 horses will be left and managed while research is undertaken to determine if and at what density their impacts are minor or acceptable on the ecological values in the zone.
This plan allows three years from implementation to complete the research. The Department of Conservation will be responsible for controlling population growth of the herd and for monitoring the outcomes.
A review is proposed three years from implementation, to analyse all aspects of relocation and in situ management, to decide which option to pursue.
2. Ensuring all Treatment of Kaimanawa Wild Horses is Humane.
The working party reviewed various techniques for managing the horses (pages 63-67). Rather than advising on methods of implementing each part of this plan, the working party developed criteria for all handling and culling of the horses, to ensure their treatment is humane.
3. Mechanisms for Preservation and Control of the Herd.
The herd retained in the Argo zone will continue to be subject to immunocontraception research being undertaken by Massey University, to determine if it's a feasible technique and to develop its use to control horse reproduction. Until immunocontraception is able to be applied to management of the whole herd, annual (or biennial) culling operations will be necessary to maintain a stable population. Humane treatment criteria (Appendix V) must be satisfied at all times. A Kaimanawa Wild Horse Trust will be established and agreements/contracts will be negotiated with the army and the Trust which will bind possible future managers to act accordance with the objectives of this plan.
4. Who will Manage the Herd in the Future?
The working party recommends the removal of the protected area for the Kaimanawa wild horses as it is no longer serving its intended purpose and is a restrictive management tool.
If the Kaimanawa Wild Horses are Retained on Army Land
It is recommended that a management contract or agreement between the army as land manager and the Minister of Conservation be established. This will define the role and responsibilities of the parties bound by it. It will replace the Schedule IV listing and act as security for the horses, as it will be an agreement to manage the horses in accordance with the objectives of this plan. The Department of Conservation will conduct reviews of the effectiveness of management and will also be able to review the terms of the contract/agreement.
The army would be responsible for the management and preservation of the horses.
A Kaimanawa Wild Horse Trust will be set up so that the public can continue to have a role in the preservation of the herd. The Department would consult with the Trust during any review of the effectiveness of army management of the herd.
It is envisaged that the Trust's role in this relationship would be an advisory one, in which representatives of an interested/concerned public are kept informed on management of the horses and on their welfare, and in turn are available to provide help and/or guidance when the army requests it.
If the Kaimanawa Wild Horses are Relocated to a New Site
It is envisaged that if the horses are relocated to non-army land then the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Trust will take over responsibility for their management and preservation. To provide security for the herd, a contract/agreement between the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Trust and the Department, similar to that with the army, can be established. Secure leases will be needed from the landowner of any new site, (if the Trust does not own it).
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