Fiordland’s wapiti have become New Zealand’s first Herd of Special Interest (HOSI), giving hunters a formal role in managing the herd. Roy Sloan, General Manager of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, says the legislation change is significant for the sector.

“This is probably the biggest thing to happen in the hunting sector in New Zealand ever,” he says.

“We’ve had legislation to kill deer, but we’ve never had legislation to manage deer.

“It’s like putting a man on the moon for us.”

Until now, rules required introduced deer to be exterminated as pests. The new status allows wapiti numbers to be managed for both hunting and conservation.

“A herd of special interest enables us to manage those wapiti, and only those wapiti, as a resource for hunter and conservation outcomes.”

He expects the North Island’s sika to be named as the second herd.

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