Hundreds of whānau fed from Nelson country cull

A cull of deer, pigs and goats (ungulates) in Nelson's back country reserves has resulted in a substantial reduction in numbers while providing food for hundreds of families.

The joint project between Nelson City Council, Tasman Pine Forest Ltd and Ngāti Koata took place on Atmore, Tantragee, Eureka, Brook and Marsden Valley reserves and adjacent iwi-owned land. 

Contractors Trap and Trigger, the professional hunters that carried out the cull, removed 131 deer, 58 goats, and 12 pigs from all the reserves involved. By the fourth week of the operation, hunters reported considerably lower numbers of ungulates. 

Ngāti Koata Environmental Manager Alice Woodward said rule changes from the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) made it easier for iwi to retrieve meat from their whenua. Ngāti Koata covered the cost of retrieval on Council-managed reserves as well as their own land and also covered the cost of butchering the meat. 

“Trap and trigger were able to provide a team of Ngāti Koata hunters with GPS locations of deer carcasses that were possible to retrieve. They would gut the animal as part of their work, meaning it could be safely picked up that night or early the next morning. 

“It’s not always a straightforward operation to carry the carcasses out of the reserve, some were so heavy they had to be moved out with a winch!” 

Of the 131 deer killed, it was possible to retrieve 99 carcasses. 

“This was a fantastic result, not just for protecting native species in our natural environment and reducing the damage to mountain bike trails, but because of the number of people it would feed. 

“With rising costs at the supermarket hitting people’s back pocket, this was a great time to be able to offer some free kai for many whanau.” 

Once retrieved, the carcasses were butchered by Gillespie 1 Homekill and split into packs that included venison steaks, casserole meat, mince, sausages and salami. 

Fifty whānau from across the iwi of Te Tauihu have received either one or two packs (depending on the size of their whānau ) so far, and another 55 families will receive a pack over the next week.  

“We continue to process the meat and freeze it and expect to create somewhere between 300-500 packs in total,” said Alice. 

Group Manager Community Services and Recreation Andrew White said the operation had been a great success. 

“Trap and Trigger have managed to considerably reduce numbers in our reserves, and while animal control will still be needed in the future, we have likely pushed back the date that we next need to go in. 

“A big thank you to Ngāti Koata for partnering with us and covering the logistics of retrieving the carcasses. It’s fantastic knowing that we managed to stop such a large proportion of this kai from going to waste.”