“We do get calls about them. We are exploring potential solutions,” a Napier City Council spokeswoman said.
Wild goats have started to appear again on Hospital Hill, catching the eye of motorists. Photo / NZME
She did not expand on what those solutions could be, but said the council’s animal control team and parks team were both involved.
In 2009, more than a dozen wild goats were moved from a bushy area of Napier Hill (which incorporates Bluff Hill and Hospital Hill) to Waimārama.
Hawke’s Bay Today reported, at the time, that the move ended an almost century-old association with wild goats on the hill.
But now they’re back, with appearances on Hospital Hill beginning roughly a year ago.
A truck driver, who preferred not to be named, said he’d driven past the hill for about 20 years and hadn’t noticed wild goats before – until recently.
Hospital Hill resident Ali McCarthy has lived in her home there for 13 years.
She also hadn’t seen or heard of any wild goats in the area, during that time, but that changed about 18 months ago.
Two of the four wild goats that have been catching the attention of passers-by. Photo / NZME
She said about six or seven goats started roaming in the neighbourhood, including eating fruit and vegetables on residents’ properties.
She said, in some cases, they would wander down people’s driveways.
She said the council got involved and, around late last year, a contractor was brought in to reduce the numbers.
In recent months, she said a small number of wild goats had – once again – started appearing.
She said, as far as she could tell, they were based in the bushy gorge behind Main St.
“That is where you see most of them.”
She said it was unclear how they came to be there, but most people she’d spoken to thought they had been dumped in the gorge.
Enviropest offers pest control services across the North Island, including for wild goats.
Owner Mick Verian said in small numbers – like four – wild goats wouldn’t cause many problems, other than perhaps getting into someone’s garden.
However, he said they were a pest in larger numbers.
“The problem is, for example, if you have three nannies [adult females] and a billy [adult male], well those four goats probably, realistically, turn into seven or eight next year, the following year you have probably got 10 or 12, then from there it just starts getting silly unless you control them.” He said it was common for goats to have twins.
Verian said goats have a strong digestive system and eat plants and food other animals don’t.
He said that can be “quite detrimental” for native bush, and can even cause erosion.
With larger populations, wild goats can also pose a risk for motorists, as they can potentially walk in front of a vehicle.
“They can be quite a problem on the side of any public road.”
In July, more than 200 wild goats were culled near Cromwell, following a NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi-contracted operation to reduce the number of wild goats next to State Highway 8.
Napier City Council’s Animal Control Bylaw 2021 does not prohibit goats as pets, but does include restrictions around the responsible keeping of animals.
The Department of Conservation (DoC) manages wild goat populations in parts of New Zealand, but is not involved with any programmes around Hospital Hill.
According to DoC, goats were introduced to New Zealand by European settlers for food and also for weed control.
Goats that escaped or were released thrived in the country’s grass hills, forests and scrubland areas.