24972 (2026). Steve Abel to the Minister of Conservation

24972 (2026). Steve Abel to the Minister of Conservation: What actions, if any, does the Department of Conservation plan to limit the spread of invasive browser animals?

Hon Tama Potaka: The Department of Conservation undertakes a range of actions to limit the spread of invasive browser animals, focusing on sustained control, containment, and targeted programmes to prevent expansion of their geographic range. The Department maintains sustained possum control across approximately 1.8 million hectares of public conservation land through its National Predator Control Programme. This ongoing control reduces population densities and helps prevent further spread into new areas. DOC’s tahr control programme’s highest priority is to limit the spread of tahr. Containment operations have accounted for nearly half of DOC’s tahr investment over the last five years, and the forthcoming Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2026/27 will continue to prioritise restricting tahr to their current range. Through its broader wild animal control work, DOC has a key objective of containing wild animal species within their current feral ranges or reducing those ranges over time. This is supported by initiatives such as the Deer Free Northland programme and the development of national, species-led containment plans for animals such as tahr and goats.