METHODOLOGY
1. How will the goats be removed?
Goats will initially be hunted from the air by helicopter. Aerial hunting for ecological purposes has been used and perfected in several countries worldwide. When goat densities are high, and when they are in difficult to access places, helicopter assisted hunting is an effective tool.
Once densities have been reduced, goats will be hunted from the ground using teams of experienced hunters assisted by specially trained dogs. The hunters use .223 caliber rifles with telescopic sights. These rifles are very effective and precise at long ranges, and are powerful enough to ensure a quick and humane means of dispatching the goats. The dogs, trained using techniques developed in New Zealand, will learn to find goats and herd them until the hunter arrives on the scene. The dogs have been specifically trained not to attack goats.
Once the number of goats has been significantly reduced, the "Judas goat" technique will be applied. Up to 600 goats will be radio-collared and released in various strategic parts of the island. As goats are naturally gregarious, the collared individuals will seek out the remaining elusive herds, thus leading the hunters to their targets by use of radio-telemetry.
These specific techniques have been used in over 80 island based goat eradication projects and numerous goat control projects in Australia, New Zealand, France and the United States over the past few decades. Techniques have been refined and made more efficient and more humane ensuring that the hunt is completed as quickly as possible. The Isabela project will benefit from the accumulated knowledge of experienced international wildlife management professionals.
2. Does the sound of gunfire have an impact on tortoises?
Tortoises have no reason to associate the sound of gunfire with anything that will harm them. Hunters have reported shooting while only a few metres from tortoises in the process of eating - the shots did not appear to interrupt their eating.
3. How often do hunters go to Isabela?
Hunters are performing on-going "control hunts" on the southern rim of Alcedo volcano, the most ecologically sensitive and threatened part of the Island. These hunts are designed to reduce the goat grazing pressure until we are ready to undertake the eradication campaign. One or two such trips are made to Isabela every year.
4. What is done with the dead goats?
The dead goats are left where they fall. Under the tropical sun and heat, the dead goats decompose very rapidly, most often within 7 days.
5. Why isn't military support requested for the project?
Though the military has often been suggested as an alternative, it simply isn't their responsibility to get involved in a multi-year goat eradication effort. Professional goat eradicators (they do exist) are experienced in coordinating ground hunters, dogs and helicopters; they know goat behaviour and can make rapid strategic decisions in the allocation of resources in the field based on their knowledge. Also, it is very important to focus 100% of our energy and attention to the eradication of the goats. With the military, you can never be sure if/when they will be called off to attend to new priorities, leaving the eradication effort high and dry. Military support on the logistics side of the project may be considered.
6. Why isn't the goat meat used?
The prime objective of the campaign is to eradicate goats. The more quickly this can be done, the more chances we have of succeeding, as funding for the work is never guaranteed, and any small reduction in the hunting rate will prolong the hunt due to the high reproductive rate of the goats.
By trying to use the meat, many non-hunting people would be required in the field for processing the goats as soon as they are shot (i.e. before they start decomposing). All these people would require food, water, lodging, processing facilities, transportation. Isabela island terrain is very rugged, with volcanoes rising up to nearly 1,700 metres high (over 5,000 feet); there are no roads and there is no available fresh water. Having all these people in the field would interfere with the hunters and the efficiency of the hunt - for reasons of safety, hunters would have to stop hunting in areas where people are working.
Also, should this large logistics problem somehow be resolved in a manner that would not interfere with the hunting, the actual use of the carcasses would promote the establishment of commercial / employment interests over the course of the hunt - interests that would rather not see an end to the supply of carcasses. Such interests would eventually run counter to the objective of eradicating goats, producing political pressures that could eventually be problematic to the project.
Finally, the terrain would make the recuperation of the meat a logistical nightmare. The island is very rugged, very hot and with many steep slopes. The challenge of removing thousands of goat carcasses off the island before they started decomposing would be nearly insurmountable. The costs involved in overcoming these logistical difficulties would result in a very expensive source of animal protein. If the objective of recuperating goat carcasses is to feed people, the same money required to do so could be used to feed many more people by buying food at local markets.
7. Why not sterilize the goats?
Though experiments have been carried out (including here in the Galapagos by a group of Czech scientists), preliminary results are not encouraging. There are many logistical difficulties associated with sterilization - delivery of the sterilizing agents is problematic - some must be delivered by dart gun, and others through salt licks - which aren't very effective in the presence of nearby salt water. Sterilization efforts rarely reach all of the intended animals, leaving a constant breeding population behind. Most sterilizing agents are temporary and must be delivered on a regular basis. Also, sterilized animals do not die and thus continue to destroy the environment for many years into the future - a risk we cannot afford to take.
8. Isn't there a biological control available?
There has been very little real research done on this. For the time being, no effective and safe biological control agent is available. Dingos in Australia have been the only successful biological control used to date for an island goat eradication program (Townsend Island) - but in this case, we would need to have a dingo eradication campaign after the goats are gone, as dingos would surely begin to prey on land and marine iguanas, young tortoises and other vulnerable species. Genetically engineered viral or bacterial diseases are not currently considered as an acceptable goat eradication option anywhere in the world.
9. Why not erect a fence across the Perry Isthmus?
A fence may prove to be a good idea on the Perry Isthmus. But before this money is committed (estimated at over a million dollars - who will pay for this?), we must be sure that there are no other more effective ways of keeping them from doing so (e.g. Controlling the goat population south of the Isthmus). These questions are part of the project and research will be done to find the answers.
10. How are introduced plants to be removed?
There are very few introduced plants on northern Isabela island at the moment. When introduced plants are spotted, they are removed by hand during each hunting trip. The idea is to get them before they become a large problem.
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