Red Stag to sponsor new hunting show

The country's largest sawmill, Rotorua's Red Stag Timber, has announced a major new television programme sponsorship, called The Red Stag Timber Hunters Club.

The 10 part series, to be broadcast on Sky Sport starting in April, travels the length and breadth of New Zealand's remote wilderness in search of quarry previously deemed too hard to film, risking life and limb to get the perfect shot.

Red Stag Timber chief executive Marty Verry said the show would feature stunning footage taken by quad-copters, super slow motion cameras and timelapse photography.

"With the jaw dropping natural beauty of our amazing back country The Red Stag Timber Hunters Club captures the true essence of hunting," he said.

The series is filmed and produced by Dave Shaw, former lead camera operator and head of post-production on The ITM Fishing Show.

"With many hunters on the Red Stag staff, the company was really keen to lift the lid on this healthy Kiwi lifestyle outdoor sport. We'll use the Red Stag Timber Hunters Club to promote our quality message to viewers, a large proportion of whom are expected to be builders and trade merchants."

Red Stag Timber have signed a multi-year deal to be the naming rights sponsor - describing the initiative as a perfect fit for their brand and the centrepiece of a major marketing push for the company.

Mr Shaw said the show was not about the "kill", so much as the adventure, the camaraderie, the dedication and passion that drive a true hunter.

"Our series is about fit and intelligent blokes challenging themselves in extreme environments, executing the hunt as best they can, enjoying each others company in the great outdoors and in the process, earning the respect of the audience.

"We're rapt to have such an iconic New Zealand business supporting us," Mr Shaw said.

The Red Stag Timber Hunters Club goes to air on Sky Sport 1 in the second week of April. It will be repeated across other Sky Sport channels across the 10 weeks and be followed by an entire repeat of the series later in the year. Filming for season two is already underway.