AATH season has started – here’s the information you need to avoid it.
There are areas to go where you can avoid AATH altogether, especially during their the busiest times from April to June.
General info here, including PDF maps: Aerially-assisted trophy hunting (AATH): Apply for permits Permit template here (which includes land schedule at the back saying where and when it can occur): Aerially-assisted trophy hunting (AATH) - permit sample
Downloadable spatial files here: AATH Concession Locations
This interactive map has very good information on each block and when it is open to AATH. If you click on any block it will give you all the information: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?layers=cbd6f4cb42eb4122a48815e536424e44
Seeing AATH where it shouldn’t be?
Collect as much information as possible. Date/time, Location, Description of Helicopter (ideally the rego), Pics/video wherever possible. Then provide that to DOC: wildanimalmanagement@doc.govt.nz
A key one for tahr hunters – AATH is not permitted to operate in balloted areas of the Hooker/Landsborough and Adams Wilderness Areas during the tahr ballots. These areas are only open for AATH from 14th June to 31st August.
What’s the future of AATH?
AATH seasons run from February to August each year. The current permits end at the close of the 2026 season and DOC is reviewing the permits and their conditions ahead of 2027. The Tahr Foundation and a number of other stakeholders from across hunting, recreation and conservation interests have contributed to the systems analysis and look forward to contributing the permit review as well, though a full formal review would be a better outcome.
If AATH is going to remain we’re hopeful that from this review process a more equitable system for Kiwi hunters will be one of the outcomes. Currently foot hunters have no aerial access to National Parks outside the couple of designated landing sites in each park, whereas AATH can operate anywhere within the large sections of the parks that are open to them. As NZTF work towards a HOSI application for tahr we are all going to have to work out how to equitably share an environmentally sustainable tahr resource going forward – including commercial activities like a more tolerable form of AATH. Just what this will look like all tahr hunters need to have a say in.
Key points from the NZTF perspective are inequity of access, conflict over time and place, lack of transparency in compliance and the controversy of the practice itself, while acknowledging the contribution to management that offsets provide.
The NZTF will continue to promote concepts like the Centennial Tag which begin to improve access for ground hunters, provide a higher management value and enhance the value of bull tahr to all users while putting the income directly back into the resource.
This information is now on our website and will be updated to reflect any developments.
