State to hold goat hunt
to thin out Kauai herds

Up to 52 hunters will be picked
by lottery and may use rifles

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Associated Press

The state will hold a special hunting season during two weekends this summer to thin out the feral goat population on Kauai.

The Department of Land & Natural Resources said the special rifle hunting season will be held in June and August in the Kalalau Valley and Pohakuao portions of the Na Pali Coast State Park.

The department said the feral goat population in Kalalau Valley has reached the level to where it is a problem for campers because the animals dislodge rocks and stones from the slopes above the camping area.

Up to now, hunting has been limited to archery because of the heavy use of the area by nonhunters, the state said.

The special season, which will take place on the weekends of June 22-23 and Aug. 10-11, is considered an animal control hunt.

Up to 52 hunters will be eligible to hunt during the two weekends, with no more than 26 hunters per weekend. Each hunter will be allowed four goats, two of which must be females.

Hunters will be chosen in a public lottery in Lihue on May 22. The deadline to apply for the lottery is May 8.