Hunting
Game for the challenge: Fish and Game's new chief executive Corina Jordan
In August 2022, Fish and Game announced Corina Jordan as its new chief executive, a role many would have considered a poisoned chalice. Audio
E09: Don't Dream. It's Over.
The era of live deer capture had an aura of glamour to it. But the reality for those involved was very different. Audio
E08: Getting Away With It
The success of live capture and the skyrocketing prices inevitably encourage poaching. Audio
E07: Deer Wars
By the mid 70’s things were about to change dramatically. The hunters had become so efficient they were shooting themselves out of a job. Audio
E06: Deer Devils
The mid 1960’s are the golden years for aerial hunters. Venison prices are high, fuel costs low and there seems no end to the deer. But something has to change. Audio
E05: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
Shooting from choppers is a game changer but teams are learning from scratch, working at break-neck pace in such dangerous terrain that an accident is always on the cards. Audio
E04: Game Changer
The arrival of helicopters turns the culling business on its head. Hunters shoot deer from the air and with big money to be made, venison recovery will never be the same. Audio
E03: Shape Up Or Ship Out
Suddenly everyone wants to be a culler but who will make the cut? Audio
E02: Good Keen Men
The elimination strategy hasn't worked. In 20 years, the cullers have shot perhaps 10% of the deer. It’s time to up the ante. Audio
E01: The Last Great Adventure
Red deer run rampant across the high country in New Zealand, causing extensive environmental damage. A 50-year effort to control the invasive animal gets underway. Audio
Trailer: Deer Wars
Deer Wars tells the story of the 50-year struggle to control New Zealand's red deer population. Lives were lost and fortunes made. Audio
"Bring the cash in a suitcase and the farm's yours!"
Karamea dairy farmer Peter Langford says he and his wife Debbie are ready to hang up their gumboots. With none of their four children keen on taking over the farm, it's now up for sale - lock, stock… Audio
Wild goats in hunters' sights in crack down on destructive population
Two organisations have teamed up to encourage hunters to cull high-density goat populations across the country with prizes up for grabs. Audio
Pig hunting escapades of a woman in pink
Kim Swan, joins Country Life this week for a chat about her latest book and what it takes to be a woman on tough terrain. Audio
Hunting for Tai Rāwhiti - "I don't see deer, I see a food bag"
A team of hunters heads out every five weeks to a hill country farm to harvest deer meat for Tai Rawhiti's food banks which have been under pressure after devastating weather hit the region this year… Video, Audio
Cat hunting competition returns
A Canterbury feral cat-hunting tournament which was pulled earlier this year after a national and international outcry is set to return. Organisers of the North Canterbury Hunting Competition have… Audio
Body found above Dart River near Glenorchy
A body has been found during the search for a missing hunter in steep terrain in Otago.
Prof Roger Lentle: can wild deer and conservation coexist?
Roger Lentle can tell a lot from a hoofprint. He's spent half a century hunting, tracking and studying deer. and has just published Tracking and Finding Deer in New Zealand. Deer are known to cause… Audio
Farmer sets tuna hinaki in lake after getting rid of algae
Spencer Kahu has been farming in the Kaikōura District since he was 14. Now he's 24 and manages two large properties and for him, sustainability, conservation and gathering kai for the whānau go hand… Audio
Sniffing dog stops wallabies skipping south
A cute detection dog called Toby is helping an Otago pest control team track down wily wallabies crossing the Waitaki River. The Aussie imports are escaping South Canterbury's Wallaby Containment… Audio