Thread: Wapiti in Fiordland: Herd of Special Interest (HOSI) process begins

From the FWF - a good opportunity:

Wapiti Herd of Special Interest process begins.

Finally, the Fiordland Wapiti herd is on the path to having another layer of protection.

Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager will consider formally designating a wapiti deer Herd of Special Interest (HOSI) in Fiordland National Park, which could cover more than 190,000 hectares.
To support the wapiti HOSI, the Government will also introduce a bill to parliament to clarify the designation if a HOSI in national parks, through a small amendment bill to the Game Animal Act 2013. The bill will clarify that HOSI can be established in national parks as was originally intended and clarify the existing legislation.

"This has been a 20-year battle to reach this stage," says Fiordland Wapiti Foundation General Manager Roy Sloan we are excited to work with Mr Meager to ensure this gets across the line.
The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation has pioneered modern hunting practices in New Zealand by advocating that deer management should prioritise conservation outcomes first, with hunting resources as a secondary consideration. Remarkably, there is a synergy between these two goals, which is only beginning to be fully understood, says Roy.

The Wapiti Foundation has been frustrated with the Game Animal Council Act and Herds of Special Interest, as we have managed the Wapiti herd as a de facto Herd of Special Interest for 20 years. We have long established and maintained the standard for deer management in New Zealand, all without incurring any expense to the taxpayer.

To have a government finally see common sense and be brave enough to support the Wapiti proposal for a Herd of Special Interest is truly refreshing. I am not sure if this is excitement or relief for our team, as they have put a lot of effort into making this happen.

Forest and Bird's reaction has been entirely predictable - except for the lie that this is all for only 86 deer shot per year. Ignoring that FWF cull over 1 thousand deer each year on average. I expected better from Nicola Toki.

National parks are not game parks.

Forest & Bird is calling out the Government for proposing special protections for wapiti deer, a destructive introduced species in Fiordland National Park. At a time when conservation funding faces a $1.5B shortfall, the prioritisation of hunting over biodiversity protection is deeply concerning.

CE Nicola Toki has issued a strong rebuke of the government's plan to elevate a feral deer species over endangered natives like the kākāpō, kea and whio.
"Instead of trying to ensure Fiordland can welcome kākāpō back to their home, this Government is instead looking at changing the law to let a North American deer species use the national park as a glorified vege patch – eating away at the very natural heritage that these sanctuaries have been legally designed to protect. What’s next? A sanctuary for stoats?”
This is not about hunting — it's about priorities. Hunting is part of the toolbox in tackling the out-of-control numbers of browsing animals that are causing significant damage to New Zealand’s environment and many of our members are keen hunters. Forest & Bird is supportive of the role the hunting community can and does play in helping to stem the tide of deer, pig and goat numbers. However, undermining the incredible landscapes and habitats of Fiordland National Park so that 512 hunters can shoot 86 deer in a year, is catering to a handful of vested interests at the expense of all New Zealanders. We need to protect nature, not turn national parks into game parks for a few.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political...orest-and-bird

I think the calm heads and track record of the FWF will be too much for F&B to counter.

Can Speedy with a balanced argument in support of the move. Well worth a listen if you have 15 minutes.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/progr...es-controversy

I wonder why she doesn't give credit to the FWF for the thousands of hours annually the Foundation spend on pest control in Fiordland.
I would like to see the stats on how many hours F and B do in there.

Originally Posted by Oscar

I expected better from Nicola Toki.

why?

Originally Posted by gimp

why?

She was a DOC staffer, that has to count for something.

More seriously, have had some interactions with her and thought she at least disagreed in good faith. Although now that I think about it, in one of the videos she presented she did use footage of a herd of tahr to try and make a point about exploding deer numbers. That was pretty misleading.

A sharp turnaround for Nicola Toki from her statements 12 months ago... Let's see here...

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK24...xvcmVO9ZxsztQA

“We don’t believe that the solution would require the extermination of wapiti. We expect the herd will continue to provide an important hunting opportunity and the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation could continue its valuable conservation work,“ said Ms Toki.

She got put in her place and told to sit down and shut up 12 months ago, clearly waited for the dust to settle and now back trying to poke the bear again. FWF have done more for conservation in the Fiordland national park than F&B ever have.

The word you are looking for is ...dissembling. Caught and removed the best wapiti from the Park years ago then refused to liberate them back.Sortalike DOC approving the kill of kiwi up in Taranaki for the new bypass. DOC has a record*of wanting to sell its soul and the dam at Wakarara in HB is its finest example. A dam benefiting a few scummy farms where there is little productive land.

Its an affront too thier belief systems. And always with fundamentalists, there is no leeway.

The reality is that the environment would be far better off if the wapiti herd was improved and more red deer culled to let Wapiti expand at low densities.

When this good before parliament, we have to submit.

Originally Posted by whanahuia

Its an affront too thier belief systems. And always with fundamentalists, there is no leeway.

Maybe for their members and strong supporters (but I'd reckon a fair few of them would be pragmatic here)

For their Exec/leadership, I think a big part of this is actually professional jealousy and patch protection rather than principle - FWF are outshining F&B in the space F&B believe is theirs. That is a personal affront and also a business risk.

Here's some food for thought... It's in F&B's financial best interests to have a continuation of introduced species in New Zealand. If all their dreams came true overnight, the multi-million-dollar entity that is Forest and Bird would cease to exist and they would have no war to fight, nothing to complain about, no money coming in. Their funding would dry up. Now, you could say that is their ultimate goal... But fighting the green fight is on some level a great business model, especially when we all know you can never truly win. They can drum up support, tug on the hearstrings and continue to suck money from the half-educated public who would like to ease their conscience about the damage society is collectively doing to the world.

A cunning business plan indeed.

the incentive of ideology is stronger than the incentive of money for a lot of people. "follow the money" doesn't always make sense as an approach.

It will be both

what happened to the crown herd of Waps were they not on a farm somewhere - just imagine if they let some back out into Fiordland how good that would be for the gene pool - and before any one says it would not be allowed yes the Minister of Conservation could sign it off absolutely -

Originally Posted by Oscar

Maybe for their members and strong supporters (but I'd reckon a fair few of them would be pragmatic here)

For their Exec/leadership, I think a big part of this is actually professional jealousy and patch protection rather than principle - FWF are outshining F&B in the space F&B believe is theirs. That is a personal affront and also a business risk.

Im actually not sure, does F&B activity contribute too trapping and pest control Initiatives? Or are they solely advocacy?

dunno what they contribute but I gave a talk once to F+B in Gisborne- 20 tough looking little old ladys and two blokes - them old girls scary as- very vocal species