Deer are not native to New Zealand. The first individuals were brought to the islands from England and Scotland in the mid-19th century as game animals and released mainly in the Southern Alps region. Thanks to ideal conditions, their population spread rapidly, and during the 20th century, wild deer became an ecological problem, threatening native forest stands.

Change came in the 1960s, when the export of venison from wild deer began – the originally unwanted species became a valuable export commodity. Pioneers in this industry recognized further potential and in the 1970s began capturing wild deer and transferring them to farm breeding. This gave rise to a new agricultural industry that quickly spread throughout the country.

With the development of professional farming and the introduction of the first licenses in the 1970s, New Zealand farmers began to discover other uses, such as deer velvet production. Strict standards for humane velvet harvesting were quickly introduced, leading to the creation of a widely recognized regulatory system known as the National Velvetting Standards Body.