Deer numbers have fallen to levels last seen in 1994 as the sector continues to feel the fallout from record prices earlier this decade.The latest available census, done in 2008, showed a herd of 1.2 million reports The ODT.
The kill this year was forecast to fall below 400,000, compared with a peak a few years ago of 750,000. Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) chief executive Mark O’Connor attributed the decline to farmers killing capital stock as venison prices fell, a situation from which the industry had yet to recover. He believed there was a rebalancing occurring in the industry, and those farmers who remained carrying larger numbers of animals would be more productive.
DINZ chairman John Scurr, of Wanaka, said the forecast kill was lower than the board would like, but that was a factor of supply and demand which was beyond its control. The sector had been hit by changing land use, and much of its traditional finishing country was now being used for dairying. That meant deer herds were being pushed into the high country foothills. This was despite deer farming being financially competitive with lamb finishing and wool and dairy grazing, he said.
The head of the country’s largest venison processor said he feared a declining kill could force market prices beyond what consumers were prepared to pay. Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith Cooper said the European market was already finely balanced, with supply matching demand. It is not a case of the market screaming out for more production,” he said. The impact of recovering velvet prices was also affecting the flow of prime animals.
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