Chopper hunters keen to find deer

Pilot and hunter Kieran Heney pictured with a haul of deer in Fiordland. His new employer Central Helicopters is offering farmers payment for deer as part of a venison recovery export business.

CHB farmers and land owners with unwanted wild deer on their properties are being offered royalties by a helicopter company that wants to hunt the animals from the air.

And the free-range venison could end up on dinner plates in high-end restaurants here and overseas.

Central Helicopters, with headquarters in Opotoki in the Bay of Plenty, is the only certified North Island supplies for Duncan New Zealand Venison, which supplies domestically but also has contracts to export free-range venison to the EU, the US and Australian markets.

Pilot and hunter Kieran Heney, who shot his first deer out of a helicopter aged 12, said the company started shooting for Duncans in May. He already had a few CHB farmers on the books and last week was back in the district to sign up more.

"We currently shoot all species of deer on Department of Conservation (DoC)-owned and private land and are actively seeking more farms. We are required to sit exams to become certified suppliers and are the only helicopter company that can shoot deer for Duncans in the North Island," said Mr Heney.

New Zealand's deer industry exports have been on a downward trend in recent years, but were still worth more than $260 million in 2014/15, according to the latest figures available from Deer Industry NZ and Statistics NZ.

Venison exports accounted for more than 70 per cent of revenues, or $174 million, with 31 per cent going to New Zealand's biggest export market, Germany.

Falling supply has kept venison prices stable in recent years. Mr Heney said his company had an unlimited quota and could remove deer off almost any farm as required, and it promptly paid a royalty to land owners for any deer recovered.

"For the land owner it's a win-win - more feed for their stock and a cheque for the deer removed off their farm," said Mr Heney, who says six deer would consume the amount of food required for one bull.

Using either a Hughes 500D or a Robinson R44 helicopter for shooting and recovery, Mr Heney said entire herds of wild deer, or farm deer that had gone feral, could be targeted.

"Or we can selectively cull the herd leaving trophy stags, or stags showing trophy potential."

Given the venison was destined for highly-regulated markets in the EU and elsewhere, Mr Heney said the company had to comply to rigorous standards.

"We are required to GPS the entire hunt from the time the helicopter starts till it lands. The GPS drops a "crumb" every 10 seconds and each deer is individually waypointed and tagged accordingly," he said.

Once the deer was killed, it was bled and gutted. Cuts had to be exact, he said, and any contamination resulted in the deer being deemed unsaleable.

"The deer is required to be chilled within 10 hours of a kill, in an approved registered chiller, with the temperature of the chiller recorded, and then make it to the factory within 72 hours for the EU market, and 96 hours for the US, Australian and NZ market."

But even before the animal was sent to the factory, he said the GPS files had to be sent to the processor.

"They check we have hunted within the specified boundaries and not within any areas with poisons.

"The system we use guarantees each deer is fully traceable to the time and spot it was killed."

Whether the company shot on DOC or private land, the landowner was supplied with the GPS file which showed the waypoints and flight tracks.

"This gives them the assurance the information is 100 per cent correct. It is a foolproof system with absolute integrity."

Mr Heney said the company paid a fee to DOC to obtain a wild animal recovery operation concession to be able to shoot on DoC land, which was necessary to control wild deer populations.

"Deer numbers on DOC and private land are exploding at rates seen only in the 1940s and 1950s," he said.

Interested farmers can call 0800CHOPPER.