Thread: Newshub attacking Sika

Originally Posted by Yesmate

Tell us more about these sika in the Rangitikei?

The lower Rangitikei has always been a high population area. Back in the late 70's early 80's the Makorako and Ecology areas were severely depleted by a high sika population and there was a sika die back as a consequence. Cam Speedy has spent a lot of time studying the Beech collapse and sika die back in there.

Subsequently DOC periodically opened up a heli pad in the Ecology remote experience zone to aid control through rec hunters. The Sika Foundation seem to have taken this over now https://sikafoundation.co.nz and manage 2 sites in the Ecology and one up on the Thunderbolt. The Rangatikei faces are easily accessible from the Thunderbolt. The Ecology is a really neat place to hunt.

I expect that you would be just shooting rats though. They were pretty awful when I hunted in there.

Edit. The headwaters of the Ecology are nice. I used to get dropped off near the saddle between the Makorako tribs and the Ecology but no one will drop you there now.

Originally Posted by XR500

A picture paints a thousand words. Sika roar 2023.


Attachment 239012

I think you will find that all the "tree litter" and a lack of sunshine due to a tight canopy is more of a culprit than deer. And the stocking rate for deer would be an approximately equal of 3 sheep to the acre , albeit a bit bigger area in the bush.
Just the usual "the sky is falling " from T&T to get more suckers money.

this photo was taken in the other end of the other island.....deer numbers where it was taken could hardly be called out of control. the similarities are quite unreal.

now here is photo from very high population of wallabies...

Originally Posted by Tankd

I think you will find that all the "tree litter" and a lack of sunshine due to a tight canopy is more of a culprit than deer. And the stocking rate for deer would be an approximately equal of 3 sheep to the acre , albeit a bit bigger area in the bush.
Just the usual "the sky is falling " from T&T to get more suckers money.

Have hunted this particular valley since 1985. It didn't used to be like this. The last 15 years its gotten markedly worse.

Fact..... a good straight up and down friend of mine, who shall be nameless, ( but he owned an R44 ) kept some facts and figures of how many deer his clients shot in the Kaweka's each year, mainly to try and convince DOC that their ridiculous landing fees were counter productive, but he also researched and recorded the weight of boned out Sika that were brought out of the Kaweka's by his clients, and the average weight was 7 Kg over all the age groups and sexes. That's not a misprint.
And Cam Speedy did an in depth survey of Sika on a neighboring block with similar over population problem and similar mountain beech forest & manuka, and the average whole carcass weight was 25Kg
I struggled with those figures, so started weighing each boned out Sika I carried out in my pack with my other gear, and was most pissed off to find my pack wasn't as heavy as by shoulders reckoned.
I think DOC's aerial search and destroy / Mountain beech recovery program in the Kaweka FP ran for 13 seasons from memory ( a season being from 01 Oct to 28 Feb each year )

Originally Posted by Tahr

You organise a concession for me to be dropped off near the Burn with a bag of rice and and sack of ammo for 10 days and I will do my bit

Message me if you need a hand.

Originally Posted by Tahr

You organise a concession for me to be dropped off near the Burn with a bag of rice and and sack of ammo for 10 days and I will do my bit

that right there is the issue over so much of the country....access and then cost of access....area I hunt down here,I went into mt hutt helicopters when they were still flying,wanted to fly 2 packs and 20litre water container to bushline..."where abouts" I was asked.pointed out window..... $1600 was quoted price!!!!!
its a 3-4-6 hour walk uphill to get there and water is either 1hour downhill or strangely enough 3/4hr up hill from where most folks will camp on bushline.... its a 2 1/2 or 3 day outing for me or just not worth the effort/sweat to go there... hard to find anyone keen enough to accompany me on flatter ground let alone trip up onto tops.

Originally Posted by STC

it is a shame some people are dumb enough to fall for such blatant propaganda.

@STC
Very interested to hear your reasoning on this.

This time last year I thought I would do a trip to the Kaweka BR campsite by myself. Chris used to back load me in and out of there for a few hundred dollars. With Chris closed down Heli Sika were the only option. I emailed them asking for a price - said I was flexible and was happy to fit in with a back load or what ever.

Here's their reply:

$2020 incl GST for the H500 (max 400kg payload) + DOC land fees of $50.60 each.

So I haven't been into the Kawekas since Chris left.

Originally Posted by XR500

Have hunted this particular valley since 1985. It didn't used to be like this. The last 15 years its gotten markedly worse.

There is a funny thing which happens , trees grow upwards . That is why Pine plantations plant more tree than necessary and then thin them out , only in this instance there are no chainsaws only nature .
Nature is of a "Boom and Bust" nature , one thing will dominate until there is a collapse what the "Conservators" are always trying to do in short is to play God . Nature is not some garden to be dictated to as though it was by the design of man . It is governed by the rule of "Might is right" and whom ever rules is King of the Hill until they are knocked off. It is the arrogance of some to think that a deer should be of a certain weight as to massage their arrogance so they can wave their dick around to show how big they are while forgetting just how insignificant they are .

Originally Posted by Yesmate

Every situation of differences needs compromising both ways, I don't believe F&B have compromise within them they have become an activist and political operation.With what they say re controlling numbers and hunting I reckon are totally untrustworthy when you know what there end game really is.When they say control I would bet large that means control the deer numbers close to 0.

Likely so in the past. But the dynamics have changed. You can smell it in the air. Minister of Hunting. Game Council. Sika Foundation. NZDA. There is a shift. F&B are smart and Im sure they get it. On this one they will compromise - they have already started their face saving by calling for control and not eradication.

Originally Posted by Tahr

This time last year I thought I would do a trip to the Kaweka BR campsite by myself. Chris used to back load me in and out of there for a few hundred dollars. With Chris closed down Heli Sika were the only option. I emailed them asking for a price - said I was flexible and was happy to fit in with a back load or what ever.

Here's their reply:

$2020 incl GST for the H500 (max 400kg payload) + DOC land fees of $50.60 each.

So I haven't been into the Kawekas since Chris left.

This is exactly what I used to do. I’d tell him I was coming on a certain day, turn up, sometimes yarn away a couple of hours, and he would fly me to rocks ahead, ballards, north whetu etc, for never more than $250. As I would arrive with a rifle, small pack, and myself, and a willingness to fit in with whatever he had on. Pretty sure he was the last flight I’ve flown in the North Island.


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Ive seen the corruption on deer pallet counts for a whole week in the Kawekas .The crap those guys spin is a joke . Only do pallet counts on sunny morning faces . Only walk 10 metres from the track and close to water . The rest of the areas never get checked