Red deer in New Zealand: Game animal,economic resource or environmental pest?

The 150‐year history of red deer in New Zealand reflects changing relations between people and introduced animals and has involved recreational, environmental and commercial hunting. Hunters initially pursued red deer for recreation then for environmental control before the animals were subsumed into society's economic processes. After 1930, they were regarded as environmental pests and hunting was open to all. Commercial hunting started after World War II, when economic value redefined the relationship between red deer and people. Relations between people and red deer continued to evolve as New Zealanders generated progressively more refined understandings of nature and the place of introduced species in this country's diverse environments.