Peel Forest Estate is the home of the exclusive purebred Furzeland herd.
The Furzeland herd is the most important bloodline for the red deer trophy industry. Originally purchased in 1992 from Dr. John Henshaw who founded the herd in England by bringing together selected hinds from various parks in England and proceeded to create a breed that had prolific points, well structured symmetrical antlers, great temperament and hardy. Through ruthless culling and wise breeding he succeeded and gave the red deer trophy industry the most dynamic and unrivalled pool of world class highly heritable trophy genetics.
The original Furzeland herd is owned and managed by the Graham Carr International Group. In 1994 a selection of the superior genetics from the original herd in England was relocated to Peel Forest Estate in New Zealand through live shipments, embryos and semen. The first shipment included an exceptional multi-pointed spiker called Jamieson. Jamieson, regarded as the most prepotent master sire in New Zealand and North America, became one of the foundation Furzeland sires at Peel Forest, key to the successful development of the purebred Furzeland herd in New Zealand.
George and Jamieson
Furzeland Two Year Olds
Furzeland Heritability
Furzeland genetics’ greatest strength is their ability to pass on their superior antler genetics as can be seen from the generations of extraordinary multi-pointed stags bred from the herd. (Antler genetics are very heritable with 70% inheritable factor, compared to growth rates of 30% and in dairy cows milking ability of 5%).