They’re beautiful to look at, prized as hunting trophies and mythologised as guardians of woodland creatures. But the truth about deer is far from a fairy-tale say environmentalists, who believe they’re pushing some of our forests and biodiversity to collapse.
In Wellington, deer venture so close to the city, that they’re eating out the urban fringes.
So why have these foreign invaders been allowed to threaten the lush, untouched image of Aotearoa we export to the world?
Reporter: Tamati Rimene-Sproat
Producer: Lee Taylor
Cameras: Tory Evans, Pat Makiri
Editor: Gareth Pearce