Maui Wowie

Meet the Hunters Turning the Problem of Invasive Axis Deer into a Thriving Health-Conscious Business, While Saving Hawaii’s Delicate Ecosystem

by Richard Baimbridge

Editor’s Note: This article is part of our focus on health & nutrition this month… 

If there’s a lesson to be learned from history, it’s that good intentions often have unforeseen consequences. And that sometimes even the smallest gestures can have disastrous results further down the line. Such was the case with the benevolent and seemingly harmless gift of a few Axis deer from India, presented to Hawaiian King Kamehameha V in 1867 on the island of Lanai, just off the coast of Maui.

From those initial nine deer, the population soon spun out of control and began spreading across the islands. With ideal conditions, no natural predators and year-round breeding, there are now over 70,000 Axis deer on the island of Molokai – outnumbering humans by ten-to-one. Meanwhile, Maui has an Axis population of over 50,000 – and it’s still growing.  

Overall, it's one of the worst invasive species problems on the planet, causing millions of dollars in losses to local agriculture each year, in addition to serious soil erosion. This also impacts oceanic life, as soil run-off destroys the delicate balance of Hawaii’s pristine coral reefs.

Deer, specifically, are notoriously difficult to manage because of the ease with which they clear fencing and move in and out of ranch land, farm land, as well as conservation areas. 

For years, Hawaiian authorities have tried different ways to deal with the Axis problem, such as allowing hunting outfitters to operate trophy hunts, from bowhunting to “Pork Choppers”-style helicopter sniper excursions on the island of Lanai. And, of course, venison has also become an important part of the local diet over the past century. But with the huge deer populations and strict USDA regulations on selling venison commercially, many of the Axis being shot were simply buried, with the meat going to waste.

Then, in 2015, a company called Maui Nui, founded by Jake Muise (originally from Northern Canada) and his native Hawaiian wife Ku’ulani, set out to change that – and to bring what is perhaps the best solution so far to the Axis overpopulation problem. Working closely with the USDA, Jake and his wife worked out a way to harvest Axis deer, process them directly in the field, and legally sell the meat to consumers across the USA through a gourmet online venison e-business.

“A USDA inspector attends the entire duration of the harvest and, along with a USDA veterinarian, thoroughly inspects every single animal before approving it as safe for human consumption,” Ku’ulani told me in a recent email interview.

“All harvesting is done entirely at night to make the process stress-free for the deer. They are never baited, fenced, penned, or corralled and remain wild until the moment of harvest. To achieve this, we rely on FLIR technology to inspect and harvest each animal without it being aware of our presence.”

“FLIR”, she explains, stands for “Forward Looking Infrared” in which the heat signatures of animals are detected, recorded and compiled into highly accurate population surveys – that data is then shared with landowners and wildlife conservationists. 

Jake says he was first taken in by a Molokai family while attending the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. It was on Molokai (where Kuʻulani was born and raised) that his relationship with Axis deer began, over holidays and summer breaks, alongside multi-generational subsistence hunters. His fascination with deer grew and at the close of his college career, he founded a research-based non-profit — the Axis Deer Institute. 

About ten years ago, the couple was hired for a project locating five Axis deer that were illegally introduced to Hawaii’s main Island. After that success, they we were contacted by Maui ranchers to develop a comprehensive plan for Axis deer management. 

“Maui Nui grew out of our passion to create a full-bodied solution that saw Hawaii’s deer as both a non-native species in need of active population management as well as an incredible food resource whose sustainability and viability needed to be ensured in the long term,” Ku’ulani says.

When I ask her why the government doesn’t just eradicate all Axis deer, she says that, aside from not having the legal right to do so on private property, many locals embrace the deer as a part of their culture and want to protect them.

“We absolutely believe that Axis deer have great value within our local food system if/when their numbers can be properly managed,” she says.

“In areas like our forested watersheds, we see that their presence is incredibly detrimental. But in lower elevations and densities, they offer an important food resource to the most isolated communities on the planet. Though the word ‘invasive’ is the easiest door into the story of Axis deer in Hawaii, some of our communities have strong ties to their history and role on the islands.”

At the same time, Maui Nui is providing some of the healthiest, most nutrient-dense wild organic meat in the world to tables across the USA at a time when a growing number of people are becoming more conscious about the food they consume. And not all of those people have the ability or desire to hunt for themselves. Maui Nui is now harvesting around 300 Axis deer per month, and struggling to keep up with growing demand as word of the company spreads.

The prime cuts are of the finest quality – Maui Nui is top-notch venison from start to finish, including even the packaging, making it a popular gift. And it ain’t cheap, either. A pound of rib chops goes for $79, while leg medallions are a more modest $37. They also sell venison jerky, breakfast sausage links and supplements made from Axis antlers. 

But despite numbers of Axis deer still being out of control, Ku’ulani says she still sees hunting as the best long-term solution. And many conservationists agree.

Last year, hunters removed 17,000 Axis deer from the islands – a significant increase over past years. Ku’ulani believes that if those numbers are maintained for the next decade, the Axis deer population can be brought down to a manageable level, as harvesting starts to outpace reproduction rates.

Jake and Ku’ulani like to use the Hawaiian word "kuleana" a lot to describe their philosophy. When I ask them what it means exactly, Ku’ulani says, “It’s an important word in our language and culture and, although so much is lost in translation, it invokes ideas of responsibility but also privilege — the idea that we are called to care for our places but also, that our places care for us in return.”

It's interesting that a single word can convey so much meaning – but it’s certainly a kind of balance and harmony that I think all of us could benefit from, especially as hunters.

You can find out more by watching Maui Nui Venison’s video “Balance” here.

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