A bad weekend for Taranaki's feral pigs, possums, goats and rabbits

Nearly 100 teams of pig hunters hit the hills, valleys and forests around Taranaki at the weekend in search of tusked pests to turn into pork roasts and prizes.

The annual Waitara District Services & Citizens Club Wild Boar Hunt made Taranaki a tough place to be for wild pigs, but it wasn't too great for possums, goats or rabbits either.

There were 66 pigs brought in for weighing on Sunday and dozens of rabbits, possums and goats hunted down by the younger stalkers keen to get the trophy for best goat's head, or heaviest rabbit and possum combination.

Club manager Corrine Verstaten said the 66 pigs brought in was 10 more than last year, though the 68.5 kg for the heaviest pig was not as big as the best in 2022.

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"But there was a pig with two hooves on one foot," she said.

Verstaten, who has been organising the sponsorship, raffles and prizes for the competition for the last six years, said there were 90 teams entered this year, most with at least three hunters in each.

Though the animals do not have to be caught within the Taranaki region, they must have been killed no earlier than Thursday morning and be brought to the club between midday and 3pm on Sunday for the weigh-in.

On the Department of Conservation website it states male feral pigs, known as boars, can be nearly 1m high at the shoulder and can weigh up to 205 kg. Females, sows, are smaller at 600mm high and weighing up to 114kg.