" THE ZOO."

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16310, 6 September 1918, Page 7

" THE ZOO."

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY'S PROPOSALS.

The proposal to drastically curtail the activities in certain directions and enlarge thorn in others, at what is general]* known as the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society's "Zoo," has not met with the unanimous approval of members of the Association, and, in response to a requisition, signed by 15 members, a special meeting of the bociety was called in the Chamber of Commerce Hail laat evening to further discuss tho matter. fhe chair waa tjiken by Mr W. H. Tisdall, aud there |Jero present about 40 members of the Society • * Tiie chairman asked for ©omeono wJio bad signed tho requisition to explain the s iguat° r ' c 3' views - For some time there was no response, and a request ior a motion was not roR. Christie rose, and said he was a signatory to the requisition. He had been told that the Society proposed to do away with many of tho birds ut the gardens and go in for quail breeding. He did not approve of this, though if the Society proposed to concentrate on fish breeding he would be more inclined to favour the proposal. Mr J- H. Andrews said he held the same views as tho previous speakor. Ho thought the Society should at least breed poafowl and Canadian geese. These birds could surely bo sold at a F. W. Woodward said he thought it would be a shame to do away with the birds and animals at tho gardens. They were a great asset to the city, and it would be a great disappointment to many mothers and children if the animals and birds were practically all abolished. Tho City Council might help with the gardens if asked to do so. Mr E. F. Stead said it would put things on a better footing if he explained exactly what it was proposed to do. There wero certain things in the gardens which tho Society, as a Society, would not care to seo at liberty, and it was quito wrong for them to keep them at all. Tho squirrels — which had tho mango, or ringworm, or something of that naturo—came under this category. If tho Society aimed to have a zoo, it ought to be ashamed of tho collection now in existence. In any case, ho held tho Society could not run n zoo. as the hospital authorities would at on'co protest, and rightly so. There were birds at the gardens, such as black teal, American wood ducks, Canadian geese, peafowl, and pukoko, which would never thrive in tlioir present surroundings, and tho best thing that could bo done was to remove some of thorn to a fresh place, whore they would have a reasonable chaneo of doing well. With regard to pukeko, it wan a debatable point whether they should be kont at all, for they were undoubtedly robbers, and very destructive. It had been proposed to turn the pukeko out into the native reserve of the Domain Board. He considered that the rearing of pheasants was hopeless. There wore a number of chaffinches, hedge sparrows, magpies, etc., at the gardens, and these, of course, wero useless from an acclimatisation point of view. He suggested the importation of new blood for the Canadian peeso and American wood ducks, and thero would be then a fair chance of breeding useful birds. New blood was also necessary for the quail, a bird there wasjevery chance of rearing properly. With regard to the proposition to form a zoo, he entiroly disapproved of the Socicty taking up the matter at all. Mr Stead emphasised tho point that the Society was not looking f at the matter from a financial point of view, but from the point of view of an Acclimatisation Society. • .Mr P. J. De la Cour said that thf re was no doubt at all that tho gardens needed an absolute overhaul, and considerable reconstruction, but he strongly opposed the suggestion to abolish any of the animals or birds, even tho rabbits. Their food cost only £37 last vear, and it took the curator, Mr •D, Hope, only an hour or so per day to feed the lot. Many of the birds objected to were readily saleable, and could be made a source of considerable revenue to the Society. Tho Squirrels cost tho Society nothing for food, and were worth 60s a pair, and a peacock was certainly worth £5. • Tho ponVls in the gardens needed a great deal of renovation, and fresh concrete work, but it was no good doing it until tho Society decided what it was going to do. So far as the sale of fish ova and fry was concerned, the market was a good and increasing one. He had a scheme to enlarge the gardens right up tho Middle Park road, ,as far as the old hatchery, and he hoped they would study the whole thing out before they did anything in the way of abolition. Even the small birds could be made to pay, there being money in the canaries especially. If the Society decided to keep the birds and animals, he believed ho could collect the money necessary for their upkeep, and he had reason to believe that certain local bodies would assist. In answer to Professor Blunt, Mr De la Cour said the improvements he had suggested would not cost tho Society a penny. . Mr L. A. Shand read extracts from past annual reports, which referred to the poor results of bird breeding. The idea tto re-organise was no new thing On the Council's part. Mr E. Hardcastle stressed the point that there was absolutely no personal ■ feeling against Mr De la Cour amongst the members of the Garden Committee, as Mr De la Cour seemed to think. The proposals made by Mr De la Cour would run the Society into too much money, especially in view of the Society's present obligations. It was absolutely im- ' perative to get the gardens cleared and Sweetened up, for until • this was done no successful bird brooding could be carried out. What birds the Society did keep should be useful ones from an acclimatisation point of view, and personally he favoured an attempt to rear native birds. . After-further discussion, Mr De la Cour moved: "That the Coniicil retain the birds and animals as they are, with the exception of the rabbits and some of the Ene'ish pheasants." Mr W. Fabian seconded the motion. Dr. C. Morten-Anderson remarked that pheasants had been acclimatised, and turned out on the Rnvs at least ten vears before tho establishment of fhe Society. They hnd beoome very numerous, and partridges wero also rather nlentiful at one time. He rut down their deorense to the liberation of stonts and weasels, and also to the use of pniconed ernin. Mr M. H. Oodbv said he throneM tho Societv should devote itself entirely to trne acclimatisation work. To do "this succcssfnl'v would mean making a practically clean swneo of the stock at present in the gardens. _ On bein<r out. Mr De In (jour's motion war declared carried, 23 voting for it, and 17 against. .