History

Ruapehu Red Deer was established in 2009 but the history of the herd goes back to the 1980`s. Stud weaner hinds were purchased from a variety of sources at the time but mostly from Peter Fraser whose Furzeland genetics are legendary.

When the Maral deer arrived in the early 1990’s they immediately appealed. They were large framed and had an absolutely outstanding temperament. Semen from these deer was purchased from Sir James Fletcher who had imported them from Russia. Unfortunately only three hinds and one stag were imported which made for a very limited gene pool. No imports have been allowed since.

All deer in the stud subsequently carried Maral genetics introduced through AI. A very significant sire was W36 who was out of G14 (known as Mrs Maral), weighed 294kg and cut 6.67kg velvet at 6yrs, and had an unbelievable temperament. He was the sire of our Merlin out of a 1992 hind of Peter Fraser`s (by Boris). Merlin again had unbelievable temperament and went on to about the same weight as his sire but cut 8.5kg velvet which was placed 7th in the national competition. He was another foundation sire for the stud.

Virtually all the adult hinds in this stud have been AIed every year since inception. At times up to $1000/straw has been paid for semen with the focus on the best genetics available for growth and temperament, with a requirement for sound velvet.

Since the introduction of DeerSelect in 2008 every possible use has been made of the data generated. This is a very powerful tool and a great asset to the N.Z. deer industry. The focus has remained the same but the W12BV and WWTBV evaluations have allowed huge progress to be made with growth genetics.

A variety of studs have been used to source AI sires including Deer improvement, Canterbury Imported Red Deer Stud, Focus genetics and more recently Melior genetics. In 2013 the Eastern Herd was purchased from John Bates`s Canterbury Imported Red Deer Stud which has also aided in the genetic improvement. The stud hind herd now numbers around 650 hinds which allows for a lot of selection pressure for a 2yr sale catalogue of around 36 stags.

Ruapehu Red Deer has a history going back to the 1980`s. Sales during the 1990`s were confined to private treaty, in 2000 we started selling at the Waiouru selling complex with our long-time friends John & Robbie Bruce and since 2009 we have held an on farm auction at the Pukenaua Road property.

Looking ahead we are presenting 2year sire stags with W12BV’s above 30kg and WWTBVs above 20kg, with great temperament and sound velvet. A complete package for the venison breeding herd.