The Ballot’s Bloody Rigged - A podcast by the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation

Fiordland Wapiti have been designated as New Zealand's first Herd of Special Interest, known as HOSI.

This means the herd is managed in an area with scientific assessment of how many deer the area can hold without damage to biodiversity, and the rest culled from a helicopter or hunted during the Wapiti ballot.

Listen to what it took to get to this stage and what the future looks like in a discussion with Roy Sloan, General Manager, of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation and Adam Fairmaid, President of the foundation.

Thanks again to Lou and Peter Berryman for letting us use their cover of the Dem Deer song as an intro.

You see a bigger stag than you have ever seen before, but you don’t take the shot because next year he will be a whopper!

In this episode hunter Jonny Dingle, who had a block in the 2026 Wapiti Ballot, tells us how he sees making decisions when hunting for a trophy but with the long term game in the back of the mind.

But first Roy Sloan, General Manager, of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation talks about how making these decisions improve the herd and conservation long term.

Thanks again to Lou and Peter Berryman for letting us use their cover of the Dem Deer song as an intro.

Common denominators that need to shine through from applicants are a thirst for adventure, a desire to learn and share knowledge and the ability to keep an open mind.

Special thanks to Fiordland Outdoors and First Lite for your support!

Roy Sloan, General Manager, of the Foundation talks about how they cull to improve the Wapiti herd, and shares a ton of tips on what hunters should consider when they are chasing a big bull - wind, terrain, staying dry and more.

In this episode Roy Sloan talks about deer and wapiti management.

He goes into why it is often boom and bust, how skinny deer who seemingly have no trophy potential sometimes turn out to be monsters later in life, we talk about National wild animal recovery operations (WARO) and how their skills are needed, but also why hunters have a challenging relationship with WARO, how do you manage for trophies is in the wild, monitoring to see that management is working and a possible education arm of the Wapiti Foundation that will hopefully teach managing deer from a data driven environmental perspective.

Thanks again to Lou and Peter Berryman for letting us use their cover of the Dem Deer song as an intro.

In this episode Roy Sloan, General Manager, of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation says for the first time in ages he is content...because we got permission from Lou and Peter Berryman to use their cover of the Dem Deer song.

He and Adam Fairmaid, President of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, talk about Herds of Special Interest and the announcement by Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager of draft plans for Wapiti and Sika herds to be managed.

Meager said the proposal is for a new approach to managing wapiti deer in parts of Fiordland National Park and sika deer in the Kaimanawa and Kaweka forest parks. 

“These changes will allow hunter-led conservation groups to sustainably manage herd numbers and create opportunities to drive economic growth in those areas".

Roy and Adam talk about reaction from the conservation sector, what a HOSI would possibly mean for deer herds going forward, they call on hunters to submit on the plan, and more.

Welcome to episode one of 'The Ballot is Bloody Rigged' - a podcast by the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation.

Roy Sloan, General Manager, and Adam Fairmaid, President, talk about how Wapiti were introduced, what their home range is, traits of a Wapiti, they talk conservation efforts, reflect on hunting culture, back country huts, and talk about how gnarly fiordlands is....o yeah, and the ballot is rigged.

Go to The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation