Thread: Herd management and Playing our part

Originally Posted by gimp

Trophy quality can be limited by either genetics or nutrition. In NZ wild red deer, it is much more likely to be limited by nutrition than genetics, due to poor soil nutrients & competition. It isn't comparable to farmed deer, where when the nutrition limit is hit genetics becomes important.

Age of wild stags is also a limiting factor, very few get old enough.

I found reading old trophy hunting books fascinating for the information on this topic. Looking at the production of trophies from various herds as the deer expanded their range into new country with unlimited feed. Some herds have just never produced trophies - the Thorndon Hall stock for example that were released to become the Nelson Herd. Other herds have consistently produced trophies of note