Roaring up a sika deer in the Kaimanawa Forest Park during the 2018 roar.
The stags are roaring and hunting is banned.
Sika Show owner and Taupō resident Mark Bridgman McMillan said the respite from hunters is probably not really long enough to have any effect on the overall population of wild deer.
"Over five years, it could make a difference. Being left alonefor a month or a few months will be just like a public holiday for them."
In the Kaimanawas, stags have been roaring since the first frost in the last week of March. The roar came early this year, with many hunters planning trips into the back country in April. Trips that will now never happen, due to the country being in lockdown due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Hunting on land administered by Department of Conservation (DoC) is permissible by permit, with hunters playing an important role in controlling the deer who are classified as an animal pest in the DoC estate.
Mr Bridgman McMillan said deer are not the priority at the moment and people should take a break, take a reset and worry about the real things in life.
DO NOT USE A magnificent sika stag, photographed in the 2019 roar. Photo / Kyle Mitchell
A gunsmith by trade, Mr Bridgman McMillan has months of work scheduled ahead of him and said unlike the United States, he did not sell more ammunition in the lead-up to the lockdown.
Fresh rules published on the Government's Covid-19 website make it very clear that hunting and fishing are banned, due to the risk of placing undue pressure on search and rescue, and medical resources in the event of a rescue.
A NZ Police spokesperson said they are urging everyone to follow the alert level 4 rules and will use their discretion to give a warning, and if necessary they could make an arrest.
"Prior to Covid-19, if you lived in Taupō or Tūrangi, then 90 per cent of hunters were going hunting every week. It's the norm," said Mr Bridgman McMillan.
He said in the early stages of the lockdown, some people said they were going hunting. He says this is typical of New Zealanders as a whole, who don't like being told what to do.
"Everyone needs to chill out. There are more important things at this time."
Outdoor and sporting shop Hamills Taupō owner Saran Tepavac has survived a total loss business fire and says it will take more than a world disaster to throw him down.
Hamills Taupō owner Saran Tepavac with son Jack, outside the family business. Photo / Supplied
"But we can only do it with the support of our locals," he said.
He says customers he has spoke to have all been happy to play their part and stay home.
On Monday, Mr Tepavac was doing exactly that, at home looking after the kids and preparing for when his business can open up again.
"At this time, when they say support the little fulla, the little fulla is at home wrapping packages in the garage."
Mr Tepavac said hunters are sports people, and they can spend all year preparing for time in the bush over the roar. He says there is more to the roar than shooting a deer.
"People look forward to the roar. Most people go hunting by themselves and they go into the bush for the isolation or to mentally catch their breath."
