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It’s venison on the menu for Ngati Porou this Christmas as the East Coast iwi ponders what to do with exploding deer populations in the Raukumara Range.
Under the tribe’s treaty settlement it now has a joint management role with the Department of Conservation for the ranges, which cover about 115,0000 hectares of remote bush clad country including Hikurangi maunga.
Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou director Tui Warmenhoven says the deer eat young growth, prevent regeneration of the forest, destroy food sources for birds and leave the land prone to erosion.
She says traditionally DoC hasn’t spent much money on the area, but a culling programme is on the cards because of the extent of the crisis.
"It’s wild country out there and DoC people don't often get out there but their observations over time is it's really decimating the forests," she says.
Tui Warmenhoven says Ngati Porou will talk about the problem with Te Whanau a Apanui, which has a shared interest in the Raukumara, and it will also push for local jobs from any culling programme.
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