Fiordland wapiti the way forward for deer management
Fiordland wapiti are the best-managed public-land deer herd in New Zealand.
By Tim Gale, General Manager, NZ Game Animal Council
Those who have been lucky enough to win a wapiti ballot over the last few years or are familiar with the work of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation (FWF) will completely understand my claim that the Fiordland wapiti are the best-managed public-land deer herd in New Zealand.
Built through a long-standing partnership between DOC and the FWF, hunter-led and funded management has resulted in a lower-density, high-quality wapiti herd prized as one of New Zealand’s great hunting experiences.
Just announced in the last few weeks was the next stage in this successful management regime; a project jointly developed by the Department of Conservation, FWF and the Game Animal Council to target 300 female hybrid and red deer in sensitive conservation areas west of the Murchison Mountains and south of the established wapiti range.
Less WARO over recent years means work is needed to reduce animal numbers generally, protect sensitive alpine species and prevent red deer incursions into the wapiti range. The most effective way of doing that is to target females. Female are the breeders in a deer population and management can have the biggest impact if the number of females is kept under control. This strategy also means mature and immature wapiti bulls, which are the primary hunting resource, are not affected.
With the FWF partially funding a part of the project, through the contributions of hunters who participate in the annual ballot, it is hoped that some of the deer close to the wapiti boundaries will be recovered.
The development of this programme and the ongoing collaboration between the hunting sector and DOC in Fiordland is a model for progressive game animal management in New Zealand. It is also an illustration of how well-planned management benefits both conservation and hunting with the reward for hunters being better animals in an improved ecosystem.
The Game Animal Council is committed through both the work we do with DOC and our hunting sector partners to make sure the best outcomes are achieved for both hunting and conservation. We firmly believe that New Zealand has the opportunity to have the best of both worlds – thriving ecosystems where native species flourish as well as high-quality, low-density game animal herds that produce world class hunting.
While our hunting foundations and clubs are leading the way, the reality is that it is going to take the actions of everyday kiwi hunters in order for hunter-led management to succeed. If ultimately, we want the thrill of harvesting quality meat animals and chasing trophy-class animals, we need to be judicious about the animals we harvest and disciplined enough to leave younger males behind. This combined with actively harvesting more breeding-age females will lead to good herd outcomes in the future. The simple fact is that if we don’t hunt in this way the opportunity for managing deer for both their impacts and their benefits will be taken away from us and more blunt control-based policies will be implemented. If the folks down in Fiordland can do it, so can the rest of us.
