'It's a waste of resources if we don't use the carcasses ' - Wild deer used in butchery classes

Wildly popular butchery classes are being used as a culinary way to combat rampant feral deer in Hawke's Bay.

Farmers battling mobs of hungry deer living in nearby forests have been taught how to cut and cook the best of the pest, in the classes run by a Hawke's Bay water catchment group

The Between Two Rivers water catchment group - representing those between the Ngaruroro and Tūtaekurī rivers - had contractors working to cull mobs living around two trial farms near the Kaweka Forest Park.

With the retrieved carcasses, it was trialling butchery wānanga to teach farmers how to butcher culled deer - and to help provide a feed from the pest.

Upper catchment co-ordinator Ainsley Harte - who is also a sheep, beef and deer farmer - said wild deer often damaged native forests and competed with livestock for pasture on-farm.

Uncontrolled, they had no natural predators in New Zealand.

Harte said growing populations of feral deer were widespread in upper Hawke's Bay - and utilising the venison was a good solution.

"It started off with the aim of protecting our environment," she said.

Harte said the project could hopefully help save native plants and bush, and encourage biodiversity and bush regeneration.

"Farmers dedicate a lot of time to native planting, but they were forever getting setbacks with feral deer coming in and nipping them off. So we decided to see what we could do.

"It snowballed into a huge project which I didn't think would get this big."

The group held the first workshop over the weekend, hosted by local butcher Mark Liefting of Parkvale Butchery in Hastings, and there was another one booked up next month.

Harte said they had been overwhelmed with interest for the workshops with dozens on a waitlist - showing the need for such a project.

For her, it made sense to utilise the quality game meat.

"In my eyes it's a waste of resources if we don't use the carcasses which are left behind after we are trying to our bit for the environment.

"We are meeting the needs of these farmers but also demonstrating mahinga kai [working a natural resource or food] and distributing it back into our community."

She said the programme had been able to run thanks to funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries for water catchment groups - and was hopeful the strong demand could see the service continue in the future.