Thread: Commercial vs Recreational Hunting in NZ

Ryan, yes hinds carry genes but don't grow antlers. Its takes about 6 years for a crop of fawns to mature into possible trophy stags. The Waro guys in some areas have shot a huge percentage of the males, and if it stopped know, its going to be 6 years before anything is going to be old enough again to grow a trophy head. And it looks like these prices are going to continue for the foreseeable future. And in a lot of areas this year they have been shooting all the hinds as well. We don't need/want a high deer population - that is not good for anyone. But we do want a reasonably stable low population with at least 60% stags. That is a sensible balance for both the hunter and the environment. Right now, I can name many, many areas that have had their population reduced to almost zero. Even the Waro guys are struggling to find a deer in there. Because its been 6 or 7 years since these areas have seen a Waro chopper, the deer were completely naive, and the Waro guys themselves have admitted they think they have shot nearly every deer in there over the last year since they started up again. Its going to get harder and harder for them to get the numbers, they move into the remaining less desirable areas, and down and down it will go till it will like it was back in the 80s.
Stupid for them and for us. A sensible managed system with blocks and quotas (and hind/stag ratios) is the only way forward for everyone's sake.
And Berg, this has all taken place in the last year. The last 6 years have been good. Lets see what most hunters think after their annual roar trip this year, unless they're hunting a farm edge reasonably Waro safe area. There is going to be some sad faces come April!