Press release
ACT Conservation spokesperson and keen hunter Cameron Luxton has welcomed today’s designation of Fiordland’s wapiti as New Zealand’s first Herd of Special Interest.
“This is recognition of something hunters have known for years, the best conservation often comes from the people who spend the most time in the bush,” says Mr Luxton.
“The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation has spent decades looking after this herd and the surrounding environment. They’ve managed hunting access, maintained huts and tracks, controlled deer numbers, trapped predators, and protected native wildlife, all through the commitment of volunteers.
“Today’s designation gives that work the formal backing it deserves. It puts herd management in the hands of the people who have already shown they can deliver better outcomes for both hunters and conservation.
“Healthy herds and a healthy environment go hand in hand. Managing deer numbers properly means less browsing pressure on native vegetation while preserving one of New Zealand’s premier hunting opportunities for future generations.
“I also want to acknowledge Minister James Meager for seeing this process through. It’s a practical decision that recognises conservation works best when government trusts local expertise instead of trying to do everything from Wellington.
“This shows that hunters aren’t just users of the outdoors, they’re some of its best custodians. That’s something worth recognising, and today New Zealand has done exactly that.”
Cameron Luxton – herd management welcomed
Well done! Finally, some common sense in the area of game animals in NZ. I listened in on NZDA’s podcast style face to face with Meager last week and must admit that he was articulate, well informed and abreast of the issues. Progress after so many years.
Hunters are far better at conservation than the F&B and DoC arm chair critics, next HoSI Whitetail on Stewart Is.
Hunters get into all the out of the way corners and have an intimate knowledge of these areas they hunt.
Great work from all those involved in looking after the Wapiti and the indigenous wildlife in Fiordland. Joe
Hmmm… It’s only taken 95 years (since the 1931 “deer menace conference) for the government to come to its senses and make a start at herd management. Will it take another 95 years for them to realise the folly of their 1080 poisoning fixation?
At last, some semblance of game management instead of phobic, hatred-based pest paranoia.
The 1949 high-powered scientific American-NZ Fiordland expedition concluded that the :continued presence” of deer and wapiti in Fiordland had no adverse effect on the environment. The late 1940s are generally regarded as when NZ red deer populations had reached their peak, so 1949 is significant.
Thane Riney top scientist did a study of an undisturbed, i.e. un-hunted, red deer population at Lake Monk in Fiordland in late 1950s. He concluded the animals had reached a peak then numbers naturally dropped to a moderate to low level compatible with carrying capacity of habitat and Nature’s balance was in equilibrium.
So that would figure that the red deer reached their peak in 1940s and then “crashed” to the level he found in 1956. The Lake Monk research was published in 1959.
It is a classic study.
Deer management involves balancing herd numbers with available habitat to maintain ecosystem health. Well done Wapiti foundation and MP Cameron Luxton!
Meanwhile Forest and Bird go and do some reading. Brush up your homework.
Great to see this development after so many years. There is no way that deer could ever be eliminated entirely across the vast NZ backcountry, management is the single best option, indeed the only option. Fiordland is a model of how well this management can happen when it is “Hunters-as-Conservationists” led. They know the bush and they care deeply for it. Next HoSI for my money – Kaimanawa Sika plse!
At last. The dawning realization that our deer population is an incredibly valuable resource to be managed carefully not wantonly poisoned by the nutters at DoC and AHB is very welcome.
Well done to all those who worked tirelessly to have New Zealand’s Wapiti designated a Herd of Special Interest, especially the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation who will have an important role in future management. It is an excellent example of game management and common-sense triumphing over bigoted pest hatred. It’s a pity it took so long but with “the ice broken” perhaps other examples like Sika and Whitetail can be accelerated while receptive politicians remain accessible.
Congratulations to all involved.
What has happened here is indeed a win / win.
It’s also just recognition of the valuable role that Recreational Hunters have long played, in population management of our wild, introduced species .. and thus, in the protection of our indigenous biodiversity .. as well as supporting our agricultural productivity.
With their billions of dollars worth of recreational assets .. the into the hundreds of millions spent every year .. the millions of voluntary hours put in .. and the millions of wild, introduced critters harvested each and every year .. New Zealand’s 150,000 plus Recreational Hunters make a significant, but typically under-valued contribution.
Without all of this resource being applied .. New Zealand ratepayers and taxpayers would have to pick up the tab .. or New Zealand would simply be over-run, by all of these introduced critters.
Onwards and upwards!
There is a faction in Doc that want to do nothing but kill, will go ack a few years when Doc wanted to cull the Thar herds, made a deal with deer stalkers after a public out cry, and then proceeded with plan A