COUNTRY CALENDAR: DEER CAPTURE

South Head Peninsular acts as a buffer between the Tasmania Sea and the Cooper Harbour. Fallow deer released back in 1980 soon became a pest, but are today the centre of a million dollar farming enterprise managed by Graham Christie. The 900 hectare farm, Waioneke Park is owned by three Auckland businessmen and a Northland farmer. Along with an unregistered Angus stud and 540 breeding cows, over 2,500 head of Fallow deer are farmed in every sense of the work, with dogs used during the muster.
Venison and breeding are the main functions on the farm. De-antlered breeding stags are worth $120 if turned into venison plus a yield of $50 - $60 of velvet per year. All this gives the farmer an annual turnover of $2,000 per hectare, four times that of the average sheep and cattle farm. There is a high capital outlay and a need for expert management to run a farm like Waioneke. Fallow deer selected for their venison are still individually shot while out in the paddock. From there they are taken to the processing factory to be checked, reduced to prime cuts of venison and packaged ready for distribution to restaurants etc.