Queenstown Lakes District Council district forester Briana O'Brien said the operation lasted just under four hours.
"The goal is to reduce and maintain the wild goat population below a level at which they are causing any significant environmental damage to the Gorge Rd wetland," she said.
The last aerial culling operation occurred four years ago, but since then goat numbers had risen.
In 2006, QLDC budgeted $10,000 for a similar aerial feral goat cull operation.
Ms O'Brien could not confirm the cost of last week's cull but said the operation would have cost less because the shooters flew for only four hours.
Ms O'Brien said the goat population increase had led to concerns regarding the success of the spring planting throughout the Queenstown Hill and Ben Lomond area.
"The goats wander between the two locations, crossing the road, endangering motorists, and destroying plantings as they go," she said.
More than 25 species of native plants are scheduled to be planted in the Gorge Rd wetlands this spring.
"The Gorge Rd Enhancement Plan is all about wetlands providing nesting, foraging and resting habitat for a range of common and threatened wetlands-dependent birds, as well as habitat for a range of endemic invertebrates," she said.
Ms O'Brien also reported the goats had been affecting gardens around the Queenstown Hill area.
"We have received complaints from residents, including dented vehicles, destroyed vegetation and intimidation by the larger, more aggressive male goats," she said.
Overall, the operation was a success, Ms O'Brien said.
"Really, it's an annual problem that we have to stay on top of.
"We have managed to push the numbers back a bit and hopefully the effects will last a while," she said. Ms O'Brien said the shooter recovered as many of the goats as possible after the operation. Some of the goats were used as dog feed and some were put down an offal pit.
