He has been shooting goats frequently since he and his partner moved from Wellington three years ago to Punakaiki, where they've had a holiday home for 15 years.
"If they were in harmony with the environment I wouldn't have started shooting them," Mr Sole said.
He has made regular trips into the bush, shooting up to 13 goats a time.
He shoots only nannies and kids because the billies spray themselves with musk and "smell worse than an All Black at the end of a rugby game", he said.
He removes the legs from the carcasses, keeps some for himself and gives the rest to friends and his cat, whose goat meat diet gave it "the shiniest coat on the West Coast".
Cooked in curries, goat tasted similar to lamb but was much leaner, he said.
West Coast conservator Mike Slater said Mr Sole's contribution to biodiversity was significant.
- Westport News
