An operation to remove deer from the southern part of Coromandel Forest Park has begun, with the Department of Conservation (DOC) asking landowners and visitors to report any sightings.
The move follows aerial surveillance in 2025 that confirmed the presence of a small deer herd in the forest park — an area that has traditionally been considered deer-free and is not used for recreational deer hunting.
DOC Hauraki-Waikato-Taranaki Regional Director Tinaka Mearns said staff had suspected deer were present for some time, and the survey results prompted a new programme to remove them.
“Deer damage native forests by feeding on forest plants, trees, and seedlings,” Mearns said. “This has a flow-on impact on the resilience of the forest and land stability.”
She said DOC and its partners had worked for years to keep the Coromandel Peninsula free of wild deer.
“For some time, DOC and its partners have strived to keep Coromandel deer-free. We aim to maintain the wild-deer-free area to reduce pressure on native plants and habitats.”
The presence of deer is also concerning because they may spread Kauri dieback disease, which threatens the region’s ancient kauri forests.
Coromandel is home to thousands of taonga kauri, and the disease has already been detected in some locations.
Work to remove the deer will begin this month, starting with further surveillance by experienced contract hunters to confirm how many animals are present and where they are located.
“The surveillance will determine the presence and distribution of the deer, and will be followed by targeted hunting to remove the animals,” Mearns said.
DOC says cooperation with landowners will be essential for the programme to succeed.
“For wild deer management operations to be effective we need to work across both public and private land,” Mearns said.
“Landowners will be notified prior to the start of hunting operations and we’ll ensure we obtain written permission from landowners to carry out our deer management operations on their properties.”
Landowners are encouraged to report any fallow or red deer seen on their properties so hunters can respond quickly.
People carrying out normal activities such as farming or pig hunting may also shoot deer they encounter in the forest park or on nearby land, if it is safe and permission has been granted.
Members of the public visiting the southern areas of the forest park are also being asked to report sightings through the DOC hotline on 0800 DOC HOT.
The first stage of the programme will also help determine whether the deer have established a breeding population and what level of resources will be needed to remove them.
“With the ongoing commitment of resource, and the support of landowners and the wider public, we believe we can remove this deer herd from Coromandel,” Mearns said.
“This work is important to prevent long-term ecological damage and reduce future management costs to keep Coromandel deer-free.”
