Recreational hunters cannot control deer numbers alone, both members of the North South farmer panel say, calling for hunters, farmers and conservation groups to work together.

Waikato dairy farmer Chris Lewis says a mix keeps the balance.

“It doesn’t matter who you’ve got on there; they need money,” he says.

South Island farmer Harriet Bremner, whose boundary meets Fiordland National Park, says culling and recreational hunting can coexist. Both name certainty as their top election ask, with Bremner ruling out a capital gains tax.

“I’d like no change in policy,” she says.

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