Editing Himalayan tahr (section)

==== Control methods ====
In 1930, the Himalayan tahr was denied protection by the Animals Protection and Game Act (1921–22) and was recognized as a danger to the environment,<ref name="andrews">{{cite journal |last1=Andrews|first1=J.R.H.|last2=Christie|first2=A. H.C.|year=1964|title=Introduced ungulates in New Zealand: (a) Himalayan Tahr|journal=Tuatara: Journal of the Biological Society|volume=12|pages=69–77}}</ref> although the species is still considered to be endangered in the Himalayas on the IUCN Red List.<ref name=iucn/> Since 1937, various government operations have been undertaken to reduce tahr population and/or keep it at fixed numbers. The control of tahr remains ecologically and economically significant because of their widespread destruction of native flora and fauna and their valuable capture for hunters, respectively.

===== Hunting =====
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Himalayan Tahr Hunting in New Zealand.jpg|thumb|Himalayan tahr hunters]]  -->
In 1993, the Department of Conservation prepared the Himalayan Tahr Control Plan which lists “aerial game recovery operations, recreational and safari hunting as primary means of control”.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Himalayan Thar (tahr) Control Plan 1993 |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/about-us/science-publications/conservation-publications/threats-and-impacts/animal-pests/himalayan-thar-control-plan-1993/ |access-date=2020-12-15 |via=www.doc.govt.nz |year=1993 |language=en-nz |isbn=0-478-01546-1 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123121732/https://www.doc.govt.nz/about-us/science-publications/conservation-publications/threats-and-impacts/animal-pests/himalayan-thar-control-plan-1993/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Under the plan, the area of the tahr distribution was divided into two exclusion zones and seven management units. The exclusion zones set boundaries on the area that the tahr inhabits, with the official control operations to be employed to prevent them from spreading beyond those zones. The management unit has a fixed maximum density, which varies from 1–2.5 tahr/km<sup>2</sup> and is considered to be low enough to have a minimal negative impact on the ecosystem and, even, restore native vegetation. Under these conditions, the plan aimed to keep tahr numbers below 10,000  throughout the South Island.<ref name=":2" /> Since then, the Department of Conservation has been actively advertising tahr hunting and has created 59 tahr-hunting areas. Hunting remains the primary means of control.

===== Poisoning =====
{{Main|1080 usage in New Zealand}}
[[Image:1080PoisonWarning gobeirne.png|thumb|left|Sign warning of poisonous sodium fluoroacetate baits]]

In 1960, [[Sodium fluoroacetate|sodium monofluoroacetate]], also known as compound 1080, was used to poison tahrs.<ref name="andrews" /> This derivative of fluoroacetic acid is commonly used in many countries such as Mexico, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand as a [[pesticide]]. Compound 1080 is highly water-soluble and is diluted by rainwater and broken down by aquatic microorganisms.<ref name="poison">{{Cite web |url=http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter/nsf/WebPages/RPIO-4ZM7CX?open&gt |title=Poison 1080 |work=Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and Environment}}</ref> Water samples after baiting operations did not reveal dangerous levels of the compound.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Suren | first1 = A. | last2 = Lambert | first2 = P. | year = 2006 | title = Do toxic baits containing sodium fluroacetate (1080) affect fish and invertebrate communities when they fall into streams? | journal = New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research | volume = 40 | issue = 4| pages = 531–546 | doi=10.1080/00288330.2006.9517443| bibcode = 2006NZJMF..40..531S | s2cid = 85244853 }}</ref>  In the soil, [[sodium monofluoroacetate]] is converted by bacteria and fungi to metabolic products, shown to be nonhazardous to the environment.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Eason |first1=C. T. |last2=Wright |first2=G. R. |last3=Fitzgerald |first3=H. |year=1992 |title=Sodium Monofluoroacetate (1080) Water-Residue Analysis after Large-Scale Possum Control |journal=New Zealand Journal of Ecology |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=47–49}}</ref>

According to Australia's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and Environment,<ref name="poison" /> mammals (particularly cats and dogs) are the most susceptible to compound 1080 poisoning. Fish, birds, and amphibians generally are highly tolerant to the poison.<ref name="poison" />  Although compound 1080 is a strong enough pesticide to eradicate the entire tahr population, political pressures from hunter groups hinder its use. Opposition by the general public also contributes to the decreased use of 1080 with concerns that the accumulation of 1080 at higher levels of the food chain will pose danger to mammals such as dogs, deer and pigs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Clout|first=M N|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48810970|title=Biological invasions : economic and environmental costs of alien plant, animal, and microbe species|publisher=CRC Press|year=2002|isbn=0-8493-0836-4|editor-last=Pimentel|editor-first=David|edition=First|pages=190–193|oclc=48810970}}</ref>