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

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.

Britt Davies, who started the Wāhine & Wapiti movement, and a group of wāhine that just returned from an annual trip in the Fiordlands, talk about their week, why they joined a group of women they've never met for a trip into the rough country, what they learned, gear, expectations vs reality and how to suck it up and send it. We laughed (very loudly), we cried (literally) and had good yarns. The goal of Wāhine & Wapiti is to curate a group of keen wāhine from differing backgrounds, various age groups and levels of experience to offer an environment where we can all learn from each other. 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! Hosted by Gerhard Uys

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.

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