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Peter Attia MDPeter Attia MD

#156-Jake Muise: Humanely harvesting axis deer while alleviating its impact on Hawaii’s ecosystems

Jake Muise is an avid hunter, environmentalist, and advocate for the preservation of Hawaii’s natural resources. He is the founder of Maui Nui Venison, a company which actively manages Hawaii’s imbalanced population of axis deer by harvesting them as a food resource. In this episode, Jake tells his unbelievable backstory growing up in Northern Alberta before landing in Hawaii on a volleyball scholarship where he fell in love with the islands and the people. Jake explains how axis deer—a non-native species—were brought to the islands and how they have since become imbalanced to the detriment of Hawaii’s precious ecosystems. He goes on to explain the incredible lengths that his company has taken to ensure the most humane harvesting techniques imaginable resulting in a food source that is as clean and healthful as can be. Additionally, Jake and Peter examine what makes meat from axis deer one of the most nutrient-dense red meats on the planet. We discuss: 00:00:00 - intro 00:00:25 - Upbringing in Northern Alberta, a diet of moose meat, and learning to surf in Nova Scotia; 00:11:50 - How volleyball brought Jake to Hawaii where he met the Molokai people; 00:26:00 - Jake’s introduction to axis deer; 00:29:10 - Pro volleyball in Europe, missing the Olympic team by one spot, and his return to Hawaii; 00:34:58 - History of axis deer in Hawaii—how a non-native species came to the islands, and the superpowers that make them so hard to hunt; 00:55:45 - A potential catastrophe avoided on The Big Island—The amazing story of how Jake tracked and found axis deer that were secretly brought to The Big Island; 01:14:30 - Jake’s work helping ranchers on Maui; 01:17:00 - The detrimental impact of an imbalanced axis deer population; 01:24:12 - The incredible evacuation of farm animals from lava-locked land due to a volcano eruption; 01:35:30 - The creation of Maui Nui Venison—going above and beyond USDA requirements; 01:41:12 - The most humane way to harvest an animal—the unmatched standards Maui Nui Venison uses to harvest axis deer; 01:56:50 - Why meat from axis deer is nutritionally superior (and tastes better) than other meats; 02:10:00 - Why axis deer meat is the best option for those reluctant to eat meat: True nose-to-tail nutrition and ethical harvesting; 02:18:55 - What a truly balanced population of axis deer on Hawaii would look like; 02:26:20 - Maui Nui Venison’s charitable work during the COVID crisis; and More. Show notes page: https://peterattiamd.com/jakemuise/ About: The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 30 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life). Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com Subscribe for exclusive subscriber-only content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/ Sign up for Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/ Connect with Peter on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDFB​​​​​ Twitter: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDTW​​​​​ Instagram: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDIG​​​​​ Subscribe to The Drive: Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveApple Overcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveOvercast Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheDriveSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheDriveGoogle

Peter AttiahostJake Muiseguest
Apr 5, 20212h 33mWatch on YouTube ↗

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At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Jake Muise on Humanely Harvesting Hawaii's Axis Deer for Balance

  1. Jake Muise describes growing up in Northern Alberta eating moose, moving to Nova Scotia where he surfed and played volleyball, and being recruited to the University of Hawaii, where he was adopted into a Molokai family.
  2. Axis deer were brought to Molokai in 1868, spread to Lanai and Maui, and their year-round breeding and lack of predators have produced extreme densities that harm watersheds, soil, reefs, ranchers and food security.
  3. Muise and his hunting partner Mike spent three years using military-loaned FLIR thermal gear to find and remove the illegally released axis deer on the Big Island, and later built a helicopter net system to airlift cattle off lava-locked land.
  4. Maui Nui Venison harvests wild deer at night with thermal optics and USDA ante mortem inspection, using head shots that cause instant death with no pens or bait, and it operates only on private land.
  5. The team says axis deer meat and bone broth are nutritionally exceptional, and that the aim is a balanced population set by landowners and supported by people eating the meat, including 50,000 pounds donated during COVID.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Axis deer are unusually prolific in Hawaii.

Muise says their testosterone stays high even when antlers are cast, so they breed year-round, and 89% of harvested females were lactating or pregnant. With no predators, populations grow roughly 33% a year.

Unchecked deer damage the land from mountaintop to reef.

Muise describes deer degrading watershed forests, competing with cattle at about seven deer per cow, destroying crops, and letting soil and nitrogen-rich scat run off onto reefs.

Technology and partnership made the Big Island eradication possible.

After a year and a half without seeing a deer, borrowed military FLIR equipment found the animals. Muise credits the partnership with Mike for keeping them going, and surveys later gave confidence nothing was missed.

Humane harvest is built around zero stress.

Deer are unpenned and unbaited, and an inspector views them through thermal optics before a head shot. Muise says the team trains to miss high 30% of the time and has only once been written up for an off-target shot.

Head shots differ from arrow deaths.

Attia explains that a bullet to the head causes central nervous system death, while an arrow causes death by blood loss. The deer in a herd often don't even move after a shot.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

All of the best parts of my life have come from walking into the wrong dorm, for sure.

— Jake Muise

Our mission is to balance populations. Our mission isn't to get rid of these animals. It is an incredible resource for our communities when balanced, and the only way we do that is people need to eat them.

— Jake Muise

We've trained to be imperfect so we don't injure any animals.

— Jake Muise

Any ungulate in our forest, it might as well be a salad bar.

— Jake Muise

I think it's wrong to consume meat without having some sense of what's involved, and if you go to a grocery store and you buy a piece of steak, you can't just assume that piece of steak just showed up there without a lot of work.

— Peter Attia

Arctic Canada upbringing and Molokai cultureAxis deer history and biology in HawaiiTracking deer on the Big Island with FLIREcological and agricultural damage from deerHelicopter cattle rescue from lava flowsUSDA-inspected humane field harvestingNutrition and taste of axis deer meat

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