Coast deer prices soar

Press, 14 April 1984, Page 12

Coast deer prices soar

Westport reporter Red deer prices on the West Coast have soared to a level which puts them on a par with standardbred and thoroughbred horses. A North Island buyer recently travelled through Buller and was offering high prices for red deer hinds, going as high as $5500 for one. It appears everyone on the West Coast is trying to cash in on this lucrative market and 15 people have already been given or applied for permits from the Forest Service to hold deer within a 20-mile radius of Westport alone. Excluding Karamea and Reefton which also have a number of deer farmers, there are about 500 to 600 deer in captivity in Buller, mostly hinds, worth about $2OOO each. Although the West Coast Deerfarmers’ Association has 58 members and is the biggest breeder, there are 10 times that number who keep small herds for a secondary income. Only a year ago the value of a red deer hind captured in the wild and sold immediately was $750 to $9OO. Today the value of a wild hind straight out of the bush is between $l5OO and $2OOO. The demand is such that stock are almost impossible to obtain. Ninety per cent of all red deer captured on the West Coast are sold direct to North Island buyers. Most represent rich Waikato dairy farmers who are moving into the high outlay but financially rewarding field of deer farming.

Red deer hinds which are “fence broken” and have adjusted to captivity are fetching as much as $2BOO each. A number of West Coast deer farmers had their 1984 hind fawns sold under contract at between $llOO and $l2OO each before they were even born. The present price of pad-dock-reared weaner hinds (three to four months old) is between $l2OO and $l6OO and the demand is insatiable. Stag prices are also rising rapidly. Even abattoir prices for unwanted stags are far higher than for beef or mutton. However, good stags with high body weights and big antlers can fetch as much as $4OOO, while red deer and wapiti-cross are worth twice this. A pure wapiti beast can fetch into five figures. The demand for stags with top potential is starting to become apparent and deer farmers agree that it is best to have one top class stag covering 40 or 50 hinds rather than four or five inferior animals. A stag reaches full maturity between five and nine years old and is at top value about six years of age. Hinds are sexually mature at two and are of top value until they are seven. Aged, deformed, or injured deer are of very limited value and North Island buyers are offering less than meat value. Virtually all these injured animals are prone to disease very rapidly when there is a change of pasture or climate.

The long-term interest in farming deer is very bright, as is the future of this activity on the West Coast as predicted by stock and station agents and Government departments. The world demand for lean meat is soaring and venison is filling the need. The demand for stag velvet (when the stag’s antlers are soft and undergoing change) is expected to rise rapidly this year with prices reaching upwards of $l5O a kilogram of top grade. Deer have proved to be light on pasture and less demanding than any domes-

tic animals at present farmed. Deer traders on the West Coast are banking on a bumper 1984/85 season and many have orders for next spring’s young stock already. However, the capital cost of buying breeding stock is an inhibiting factor. Most are starting out in a small way by setting up areas for holding deer and stocking them when they can capture deer themselves from the wild. By breeding and selling in a small way they hope to provide themselves with a good secondary income.