The New Zealand Deerstalkers Association is concerned about a surprise announcement by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) announcing a government
initiative targeting “feral deer and pigs.” The announcement came in the form of an article in the farming media ion December 3.
Apparently unknown to the NZ Deerstalkers Association, the ministry has been meeting with DOC, Forest & Bird, Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb to discuss “reducing impacts” of deer and pigs on forests, farms, and carbon plantings.
“These meetings appear to have been going on without the involvement of NZDA or the statutory body representing game animals, Game Animal Council (GAC). We have also confirmed today that the Minister for Hunting and Fishing himself was not briefed prior to the media story,” says a recent NZDA newsletter.
“This is not routine policy work. This is a coordinated programme targeting deer, developed behind closed doors, with no input from hunters, and promoted to the public as a consensus “industry-wide” effort. It is, in effect, the beginning of a national push to significantly reduce or eradicate deer and pigs – without the organisations responsible for managing these species being at the table.”
In a few words, hunters were excluded from a national deer programme
“Hunters collectively harvest more deer and goats in New Zealand than any official control measure – thousands of deer and goats annually, at no cost to the taxpayer. We deliver and are a key impacted stakeholder, but despite this, MPI has:
This sounds exactly like a repeat of “The Deer Menace” conference of 1930 when Forest and Bird founder and amateur botanist Leonard Cockayne launched an all out attack on deer. Cockayne had a phobic hatred of deer yet he dismissed the fact that several moa sub-species had browsed NZ’s vegetation for some 60 million years.
NZ’s vegetation has in the 60 million years adapted to browsing by developing aggressive quick-to-sprout growth, tangled structure (divaricating), thorns and even toxins as defence mechanisms against browsing.
Farmers can take measures themselves and harvest the deer and invite genuine sportsman-like hunters to hunt their properties. But too frequently farmers say “no”, then grizzle.
It’s hard to see how MPI can claim this is an “industry-wide” programme when the very people who do most of the on-the-ground deer control – recreational hunters – have been left out of the room. NZDA is absolutely right to be surprised, and frankly alarmed, that both itself and the statutory Game Animal Council have been excluded while DOC, Forest & Bird, Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb are consulted behind closed doors.
Rural News reports MPI is talking about 1.3–1.8 million feral deer and growth of ~200,000 animals a year, and floating tools beyond ground and aerial hunting.
If poisons like brodifacoum are even implicitly “on the table”, NZDA is right to demand transparency – these toxins bioaccumulate, threaten dogs and wildlife, and are totally incompatible with ethical, food-gathering use of game animals.
Hunters collectively remove more deer and goats than any official programme, at no cost to the taxpayer. To design a national deer and pig strategy without NZDA and GAC is not just discourteous – it risks producing unbalanced policy that ignores practical field experience, public safety, and the legitimate recreational and food values of game animals. MPI should halt this process and bring the hunting sector properly to the table.
Over decades, the Forest and Bird Society and the Department of Conservation have claimed New Zealand’s vegetation evolved under no mammalian browsing. However “mammalian browsing” obscures the reality of millions of years of strong avian browsing, i.e. birds. It’s “weasel wording.”
The composition of plant species was undoubtedly different in “moa times” from when the first European settlers came to New Zealand. Palatable species diminish, unpalatable species naturally increase in numbers under browsing whether it be moas and other vegetarian birds or other browsers such as deer and possums.
The question for government with election year next year, why were the Minister for Hunting and Fishing and NZDA shut out of discussions?
It would be interesting to see how much pressure cabinet are placing on MPI. They seem to be largely a branch of Fed. FARMERS. Well writte article worthy of wider cir ulation..
What does MPI have to do with deer and pig control? Haven’t they ever heard of the Wild Animal Control Act (administered by DoC)?
Just more bureaucrats jumping on the bandwagon to enhance their taxpayer-funded non-accountable empires. I thought this government was for less bureaucracy?
At the moment the NZ Govt/ DOC/ Forest & Bird should be more concerned > “VERY CONCERNED” about the “Looming National Disaster” with Asian Yellow Legged HORNETS, invading our Native Beech Forests for Honey Dew ? than Wild Deer eating a few Leaves & Water Cress ! Those Hornets in Auckland , need some bloody serious BAITING with BORAX & HONEY ? ASAP! & NOT just Trapping . Borax is a slow acting Toxin & would be carried back into their nests , thus destroying the resident Queen/ Lava Etc. ! .. Of note Borax is a very good Ant Toxin ? & Hornets/ Wasps are in the Ant Family, not in the Bee Family.
As Recreational Hunters, we should all be more concerned about what is revealed by the development of this situation.
Our representative organisations have clearly failed to nurture and develop the kinds of truly effective, ironclad relationships – for example, between NZDA and the Game Animal Council, and the likes of DOC, MPI, Federated Farmers etc.
We should all regard each other as friends, collaborators, and shared stakeholders .. as ultimately, we’re all addressing the same issue (albeit from different angles and perspectives).
Friends don’t do this sort of thing to each other.
There is no doubt that populations of wild, introduced species need to be managed. Everybody agrees.
Poisons are generally incompatible with farming operations – and can only be used very selectively.
Recreational Hunters are the single, most cost-effective tool for wild, introduced species population management on-farm.
However, not all Recreational Hunters are the same.
Some of us have really stepped up to the challenge – employing the use of tens of thousands of dollars worth of state-of -the-art, high-tech equipment .. to improve our efficacy.
Two weeks ago, 6 of us took care of 601 wallaby in an all-out effort during a single weekend …