> This one yahoo purposefully sabotaged the coalition's efforts.

Unfortunately this is always the way. In my country it's the farmer who still shoots kea[1] for predating his sheep, despite their protected status (and their being here first) and the fact that proper livestock management would prevent that - they typically only predate sheep that are snowbound, and a good farmer doesn't leave his sheep in the high country when snow's forecast.

Or it's the hunters who transport deer species that have a negative impact on native plants to new areas for their hunting opportunities, or just to stick it to the man - I have no direct link for this, but entire truckloads of Sika deer have been intercepted trying to cross the strait between our North and South islands - Sika deer are well-established in the North Island (Te Ika-a-Maui/The Fish of Maui) but non-existent in the South Island (Te Wai Pounamu/The Waters of Greenstone(Nephrite Jade)), yet deer transporter trucks filled with Sika have been stopped trying to board the ferry.

Which I don't get, plenty of red, fallow, and white-tail deer in the South Island.

Likewise, there's been a spread of fallow deer over the country - typically they don't spread that far naturally, but from the 12 original herds introduced, there's been, shall we say, a continual leakage to other areas of the country.

And of course, perhaps, ecologically more relevant, is the deliberate introduction of Bennett's wallabies from the relatively small area of the South Island they were originally released in, to areas in the North Island. They have a significant impact, and speaking frankly as a hunter, they're a bit shit, so I don't really understand why anyone would bother other than to be contrary.

[1]: http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kea and also https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-... with special highlights:

* A kea learnt to turn on the water tap at Aspiring Hut campground.

* A kea locked a mountaineer inside the toilet at Mueller Hut.

* A kea learnt to use tools to set off stoat traps to get the eggs.

* A kea was seen having a tug-of-war with a cat over a rabbit carcass.

* A kea that was being attacked by magpies hid behind a tramper who fended them off.

To which I'd add:

* I thought my flatmate was tipping out my cylindrical ashtray I kept outside as a passive-aggressive way of telling me to quit smoking. Turns out, two kea were tipping it on its side to kick between them like a football

* I once had to counsel a German hiker whose boots, pack, and tent were systematically dismantled by a gang of young male kea when he was camped on a high alpine pass, he fled barefoot with his belongings in his arms

* An older kea had figured out he had enough time when someone went into the local tearooms to run in and grab a chocolate bar and exit before the self-closing door closed. Until one day they moved the chocolate (on account of the kea thefts) and he was trapped in the tearooms and flew around screeching merrily to everyone's horror

* Gangs of young male kea used to hang out by the toilets in town and dare each other on to make a car's tyres make that "psssssh" sound - which often resulted in people with two flat tyres on one side seeking assistance

* When working in the visitor centre I handled three complaints about kea stealing passports at a popular photo site. There was a common modus operandi - one kea would jump around and act cute for the camera, while their buddies snuck up behind the distracted tourist and rifled through their belongings. Passports, on account of often having a shiny coat of arms, were often the first thing stolen, and then dropped into a deep ravine by a kea when it realised it wasn't worth eating

* Kea love sliding down a frosted back-country hut's roof. Which sucks if you're trying to get some sleep in it at the time