The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation (FWF) says the 275sq m plant, which it hopes will open at the end of this year subject to continued fundraising and building consent, is a charitable and environmental response to the problem of deer in large tracts of the national park.
The deer are threatening the forest’s future by munching out its understorey, the group says.
FWF general manager Roy Sloan said the processing plant, dubbed the "Fiordland Project", had a build price tag of around $2.7 million and was being "born out of necessity".
While the foundation had demonstrated its ability to control deer numbers within the wapiti area of the park — 175,000ha of rugged parkland where the large ungulates live — attempts to control deer elsewhere in the park were "not working".
Around $2m had already been raised to pay for the plant through gifts in kind by construction firms, he said.
By the end of this month, a website would have a list of items still needed in the plant, that could be gifted or funded.
The FWF already had 20 years’ experience of deer recovery and venison sales, but the plant would allow ownership of the procurement chain and maximise the opportunity to recover deer by helicopter in a location that had "the craziest weather in New Zealand," Mr Sloan said.
At present, the nearest venison processing plant was in Invercargill, at capacity and a 2.5-hour drive away.
The foundation was working with two helicopter firms and willing to work with more, once the plant was up and running, if they shared the same values, he said.
While the majority of the deer processed through the plant would be shot and retrieved using helicopters, a smaller amount would be from hunters on the ground.
The deer would provide a continued supply of "one of the healthiest proteins on earth", Mr Sloan said.
It was hoped that the plant would also provide opportunities for use of other parts of the deer, including their skins.
The fact the project was non-profit added to its strength, Mr Sloan said.
"The slogan could be eat a venison pie and save a kiwi. Whatever connects people to this project will help protect Fiordland."
Department of Conservation (Doc) wild animals manager Mike Perry welcomed the step and confirmed that in parts of Fiordland high deer numbers continued to suppress regeneration of key forest species.
Sustained reductions in deer density were important to achieve forest health and recovery of deer for commercial purposes helped lower deer numbers, he said.
"While it is not normally enough on its own to achieve the densities needed for full forest recovery, increased commercial venison recovery activity can help reduce browsing pressure as part of a wider management approach," he said.
Since 2005, FWF has worked within the wapiti area — which has a wapiti deer herd — to co-ordinate the removal of many wapiti, red deer and chamois, with an aim to improve the forest and also the health of the remaining wapiti herd living in it.
The work has been undertaken in agreement with Doc, which has monitored the impact of deer browsing on seedlings in the wapiti area since 2010 and noted a "positive downward trend" of deer browsing impact, to a level now below a threshold established in 2021.
Following a consultation that closed last month, the government is considering whether to designate Fiordland wapiti deer a "herd of special interest".
The in-kind donations to construct the plant have been led by Apollo Projects — which specialises in food processing and storage builds — and its suppliers and sub-contractors.
