The one piece of tahr I tasted lasted a loooong time. The locals seem to try young goats with success. the mature bulls are Chewwwwwy.

Jameister

RE: The eating question.

They taste real good. Milder than wild venison.
However tenderness is very variable, and has no correlation to age, gender, cooking method or animal condition.
The Backstraps can be like rubbber or they can be so tender that they melt in your mouth.
I've never figured out why this is so.
Best way to prepare is to send to your butcher and have it "Corned" (Corned Beef style.)
Then roast it.
This is seriously good stuff.
Slow casseroling also works.

RE: The breeding Question. (Nitrox.)
There's always plenty of new genetics being added to the Game Ranchs, via new releases. NZ has recently had a big influx of Europeon (German, Yugoslav, Hungarian) and English genetics into it's Red Deer Industry.
Same goes for the Elk and Fallow.
Not so for Sika, Rusa, Sambar and unfortunately Whitetail.
I wish we could have some improvement in our Whitetail.