VENISON EXPORT INDUSTRY

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31409, 30 June 1967, Page 1

VENISON EXPORT INDUSTRY

Legislation To Permit Deer Farming

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

WELLINGTON, June 29.

New Zealand’s mushrooming venison export industry may now go ahead with plans for farming red deer in captivity.

The Minister of Lands (Mr Maclntyre) announced in an interview today that legislation would be introduced to Parliament this session to amend the Noxious Animals Act, 1956.

Commenting on the Cabinet decision—made last Monday—to allow deer farming, he said:

“The country’ should at least be given the opportunity 7 to try’ this new method of farming in view of the fact that deer and deer products will produce for New Zealand about £1 million in overseas funds this year.”

Mr Maclntyre said he had received several applications from venison companies to farm deer. The ap-

plicants were prepared to go to considerable expense to meet fencing and control requirement? which would be laid down. He declined to name the companies, but they are believeu to include Consolidated Traders, Ltd_ of Wellington, which was stated in December last year to be interested in establishing a 50,000-acre deer farm on cut-over bush land near Taumaranui.

The Minister announced that miner amendments would also be made to the Stock Act to make provision for the branding of captive deer. When the legislation was introduced into Parliament it

would first go before the Parliamentary Lands and Agriculture Committee for consideration, he said. Mr Maclntyre said the legislation would allow the Minister, through the Director of Forests, to issue permits to farm deer in certain circumstances and along the lines recommended by the 1965 noxious animals control report. This report recommended that the farming of deer in captivity for production of venison be permitted provided that: Two Points Land vulnerable to erosion was not used. Deer were held within deerproof fences under the same physical control as domestic stock.

The report also recom-, mended that no deer farms

should be permitted outside the present running land of the species being farmed, that the keeping of deer in captivity for breeding for game management purposes should not be permitted, that the branding and other provisions of the Stock Act should be extended to apply to deer, and that provision should be made in the Stock Act giving any land-owner the right to destroy on his own land any deer that strayed from a deer farm.

Reporting on the boom in the venison export industry’ the report said venison exports had risen from 1,061,6951 b in 1963 to 3,710,2421 b In 1965. The total value of venison, deer skins and allied products exported in 1963 was £193,788: it was £741,859 two years later. In 1965 West Germany and the Netherlands took all but 4 per cent-of the venison; the United States. West Germany, Canada and Australia took the skins and Hong Kong took most of the sundries.

The report said venison exporters considered that the export market was “virtually unlimited “

Commenting on fencing, it said one exporter had told the noxious animal control committee that his company was prepared to face the cost of fencing even at £llOO a mile.