Deer Wars

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Red deer run rampant across the high country in New Zealand, causing extensive environmental damage. A 50-year effort to control the invasive animal gets underway. By the 1930's the deer population in New Zealand was out of control and causing serious environmental damage through grazing, seve…

The elimination strategy hasn't worked. In 20 years, the cullers have shot perhaps 10% of the deer. It's time to up the ante. By the early fifties, it's become apparent that the deer elimination strategy isn't working. One report estimates that in 20 years the cullers have shot just 10% o…

Suddenly everyone wants to be a culler but who will make the cut? Suddenly everyone wants to be a culler but who will make the cut? Books about culling start to attract all sorts of men to the job. But while some are experienced shooters, others are bank clerks or shop managers with no experience i…

The arrival of helicopters turns the culling business on its head. Hunters shoot deer from the air and with big money to be made, venison recovery will never be the same. It's the early 1960s and helicopters have turned the culling business on its head. Aerial hunters are shooting 150 or more …

Shooting from choppers is a game changer but teams are learning from scratch, working at break-neck pace in such dangerous terrain that an accident is always on the cards. Shooting deer from choppers may be a game changer but everyone is learning from scratch. Working in such dangerous terrain, an …

The mid 1960's are the golden years for aerial hunters. Venison prices are high, fuel costs low and there seems no end to the deer. But something has to change. The numbers of animals are now dwindling. Deer start to become wise to the danger of choppers and hide in the forest, laying down in the t…

By the mid 70's things were about to change dramatically. The hunters had become so efficient they were shooting themselves out of a job. From 1967 on, businessman Tim Wallis had exclusive hunting rights to all of Fiordland National Park and was taking out deer in their thousands. Resentment from o…

The success of live capture and the skyrocketing prices inevitably encourage poaching. The success of live capture and the skyrocketing prices in the mid 70's (up to $4-5,000 per animal) inevitably encourage poaching. Opotiki-based Milton Kuri sums it up well; "I used to wake up in the mo…

The era of live deer capture had an aura of glamour to it. But the reality for those involved was very different. The era of live deer capture had an aura of glamour to it, much as ground hunting and aerial venison hunting had previously. But the reality for those involved was much different. Fami…