Few Applicants For Deer Farming

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31753, 9 August 1968, Page 20

Few Applicants For Deer Farming

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 8. Fewer than 20 applications to farm deer commercially have been lodged since legislation permitting deer farming—under strict conditions—was approved by Parliament last year.

The Director-General of Forests (Mr A. L. Poole) said in his annual report to Parliament today only one of the applications came from the South Island.

“It is not expected that all of these applicants will have enough suitable land or the finance to erect and maintain fences and run an economic deer farm,” he said.

Under the legislation a permit to keep deer is required from the Director-General of Forests and a licence to run a deer farm is required from the Director-General of Agriculture.

The report said during the financial year ended March 31 the value of venison exports had increased to more than $2.7m, compared with s2m in the previous year. The increase had been made possible by the use of helicopters. “About half the flying time of the commercial helicopter fleet is employed in the recovery of venison,” the report said.

“This had enabled practically all of the otherwise almost inaccessible open mountain tops inhabited by deer—including even very remote parts of Fiordland—to be covered.” Several score of hunters worked full time on the commercial production of venison and the quantity exported represented the yield from 75,000 deer. "Adding those not recovered and those shot by sport hunters the number of deer killed probably exceeds 100,000—perhaps as many as 150,000 a year,” the report said.