Intruder lets 4000 deer loose

Press, 3 July 1986, Page 3

Intruder lets 4000 deer loose

PA Rotorua An intruder cut fences to allow about 4000 deer, worth $6 million, to escape into forest from a Taupo farm on Tuesday. A call from a neighbour early on Tuesday began a day Mr Robert Oldeman will not forget His herd, many in calf, had escaped into 70,000 ha of N.Z. Forest Products land 30km from Taupo. Two fences on his property were cut and internal gates opened to set the animals free. Neighbouring farmers, police and forestry workers helped to try to recapture the deer. Mr Oldeman was out searching from dawn yesterday and could not be reached for comment He declined offers of a helicopter, fearing the

machine would frighten the deer deeper into inaccessible land. Maize and hay were laid along the farm boundary line and by 4.30 p.m. between 300 and 400 deer had been lured back on to the property. But a despairing Mr Oldeman did not expect to get many more back. “This has taken me under - we are out the back door,” he said. “You get enemies in the deer industry - but I can’t think who would do this.” The 2600 ha property is one of the largest in New Zealand. Mr Oldeman was a pioneer in the industry, breeding pure Canadian elk by transplanting embryos into red deer hinds and selling wapiti to Australian buyers.