Maui Nui Venison is a

venison Venison refers primarily to the meat of deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible, including the internal organs. Venison, much like beef or pork, is categorized into spe ...

producer on the island of

Maui, Hawaii Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. The company harvests

axis deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also called spotted deer, chital deer and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, male ...

, an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, in order to balance the population, and sells the resulting meat. Its night harvesting and field processing system is unique in the world.

History

Maui Nui Venison was founded in 2015 by Jake and Ku‘ulani Muise to address the invasive axis deer problem on Maui by

culling Culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific trait. This is done to exagge ...

them and selling the meat to the public. Axis deer are native to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, and were brought to Hawaii in the 1860s, as a gift to the Hawaiian king. The deer are prolific breeders, one of the few deer species able to breed year-round, and have no predators on the island. In large numbers, they cause severe damage to the island's ecosystem. As of 2023, the axis deer population on Maui numbers 50,000 to 60,000, growing at about 30% annually. Jake Muise was formerly axis deer coordinator for the Big Island Invasive Species Committee. The organization led eradication efforts on

Hawaii Island Hawaii is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of ...

, after the deer, populous on the islands of

Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...

, Lānai and Maui, were illegally introduced to the main island in 2009.

High tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the state of the art, cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the ...

tracking methods involving

camera traps A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared sensor, passive infrared (PIR) sensor ...

forward-looking infrared Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other therma ...

(FLIR), and

radio telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', and ...

were used to aid in locating the animals. In order to commercially hunt wild deer, Maui Nui Venison had to comply with

US Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

(USDA) regulations for hunting and processing, and animal and meat inspection. A hunting operation on Molokai, Molokai Wildlife Management, in 2007 became the first in Hawaii to obtain a USDA permit to cull axis deer and sell the USDA-certified meat.

Operations

The company uses FLIR equipment to track the deer at night, and kills, processes and stores the venison in a mobile facility. The intention is to allow the animals to roam wild and unstressed by the hunt, until the moment of death. Following USDA requirements, only single headshots are permitted. The hunters carry the carcasses on their backs to the processing facility to avoid ground contamination. Hunting is conducted on privately owned ranches, where the majority of the deer live. To meet U.S. certification requirements, the harvest team is accompanied by a USDA inspector, and each carcass is inspected by a USDA

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

. The overall system makes it the only such field operation in the world.

Products

Maui Nui sells the entire animal online, as cuts of meat,

bone broth Stock, sometimes called bone broth, is a savory cooking liquid that forms the basis of many dishes particularly soups, stews, and sauces. Making stock involves simmering animal bones, meat, seafood, or vegetables in water or wine, often for an ...

, individual

organs In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

ground meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...

jerky Jerky is lean trimmed meat strips which are Food drying, dehydrated to prevent Food spoilage, spoilage and seasoned to varying degrees. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent Microorganism, microbial growth through o ...

, and pet treats. Products are shipped frozen, available within the United States.

References

{{Reflist Hunting in the United States Deer hunting Maui Invasive animal species in the United States Ecological restoration Meat processing in the United States Meat companies of the United States Food and drink companies based in Hawaii