NORTH OTAGO DEER HERD.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13597, 4 December 1909, Page 4

NORTH OTAGO DEER HERD.

THE QUESTION OF MANAGEMENT. A PROPOSAL TO THE GOVERNMENT. The following proposal for tho future management oi tlie -North Otago nerd , o- rtu veer has been put beiore the Government by Juossrs E. liar-least lo aad it. iiay, and tlie Rev. .V. C. Oliver :— Having taken a keen interest for some years past in tne welfare ot the North Otago herd of red deer, and fioni our annual visits to the stalking grounds having become well acquainted with a considerable portion ot the country oecupitd by the deer, we de6ir«» to place be lore the Government a proposal lor ihe iiutire management i.f tin nerd. The herd is uudor the jur:3- ! diction of tlie Otago and Wauaki Ac- i flmmiisatioii Societies, the* boundary between tho two districts being th".. mountain range that separates the watershed of Hie Clutlia irom that oi the W aitaki. This boundary line, so far as the <k*cr are concerned, is, however, non-existent, as they freely pass from one district to the other, and t_ all intents ami purposes tliere is only ono hold of deer, descended from one importation. I.rom the point where they were first liberated on the Morven Hills, the deer have spread over a largo area of country, chiefly to tho north and west. With nothing to prevent the natural spread of the doer in these directions, and tho country being lightly stocked with sheep after the disastrous snow storms iv 18.3 and 1595, no apprehension was felt as to tlie welfare of thherd till tiie year 11*0... In that year j Mr John H. King, of Pembroke, Lako Wanaka. pointed out that degeneration of the deer east of Lako Hawea had set in, but no action was take. by the Otago Society. Mr King's statement was fully borne out ewo years later by Mr H. Frank Wallace, a stalker from IJbme, who wrote a strong letter to the r Otago Daily Times'' on the subject. Some of th* Christchurch deerstalkers then took the matter up, and have since with others endeavoured to advise the societies ns to what should be done to provent the increase of inferior deer on that portion of the country that had become not only overstocked, but upon which the special deer feed had be. n oaten out. and to prevent the spread of these degenerates through the best of tho herd. By means of conferences the views of practical men have been put before the societies. The Ota™ Society have shown their willingness 11 carry out the policy laid down, but owing to the want of knowledge of the country and of tho deer, and to the fact that they have allowed other influences to interfere, the work of culling has been done in what we consider a very unsatisfactory nnd inadequate manner. With the exception of a piece of ill-advised expenditure two years ago, the Waitaki Society have never spent a penny upon the deer herd during all the years they havo enjoyed a revenue from it through license fees (amounting this year to over £50) and have shown little or no disposition to work in with tho Otago Society. At a conference held in Dunedin m June, 1903, an advisory committee was set up, with the sanction of the Otago Society, to assist them in the management of the herd. What we now deciro to propose to the Government is that the herd should be handed over to a special board, the personnel of which should be similar to that of the above-mentioned advisory committee, together with a representative of the Government. .We are quite satisfied that under present conditions it wiH -he practically impossible to have the he_*d looked after as it should be. Tho policy of such a board should be to preserve the herd for local and visiting sportsmen, and at the same time to aim at reducing the deer on the sheep country, so that ultimately tho herd will be entirely located on the main mountain chain from Mount Cook southwards, which is specially suited for red deer, but not for domestic stock. The total revenue from deerstalking licenses this last season was about £250, on a £4 license, and we consider that if a similar sum is annually expended it will meet all requirements. The revenue from the herd has of lato years been increasing, and as time goes on no doubt the number of stalkers will be still larger. If our proposal is not agreed to, at least the dual control of the herd should be terminated. Even if the Otago Society fully carried out the practical men's ideas regarding culling, the adjoining ground of the Waitaki Society would form a sanctuary N for those inferior deer that the culling operations would drive over the boundary. Already a migration of the deer from the overstocked country east of Lake Hawea has set in on to the Waitaki Society's ground, and they are making for the Mackenzie Country sheep runs. We trust that the Government will give this matter favourable consideration, and, if possible, make the necessary arrangements before tho next stalking season, so that the Board may have the revenue from the licenses to enable them to start culling operations during the coming year.