Deer velvet battle joined

The annual Wairarapa Deer Velvet Competition is the highlight of the deer farmers' year, with the latest competition held this month.
Chairman of the Wairarapa Deer Farmers Association Tony Bayliss said the deer velvet is judged on weight, quality and the time it was cut.
Deer Industry New Zealand producer manager Tony Pearse judged the competition before the club's annual Christmas function.
Mr Bayliss and his wife Louise won Best Red Stag Commercial Head Under 6.5kg, and Best Three Commercial Heads went to Gavin and Barbara McManaway.
Winner of Supreme Velvet Head Over 6.5kg was Te Para deer farmer Guy Williams.
The deer velvet is exported to China and Korea for medicinal purposes, after it has been cut from the deer at the velvet stage in a humane way using anesthetic.
"If it's cut too late, it's no good for velvet," Mr Bayliss said. "The quality is reduced and the price plummets, so they have to be cut within about three days of the correct time."
Mr Bayliss said the price of deer velvet is about $100 a kilo. "The price fluctuates a lot," he said. "Good velvet stags get an average of 3.5-4kg."
He also said velvet farming with deer can be very competitive compared with other types of farming.
"Deer are the only animal in the world that grow new antlers annually. If they're left to grow, they fall off in the early spring, so it's really something special."
Mr Bayliss said this year's competition was judged in a more "more scientifically than before", by logging information such as weight and size into a computer. "We do still take a personal approach to it - it's quite a process," he said. The competition saw less competitors than last year, as it coincided with the North Island competition.
"This year we only had about six competing, but maybe next year we will sort something out so the two events don't clash next year," Mr Bayliss said.