WILD-LIFE PROBLEMS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19832, 21 January 1930, Page 13

WILD-LIFE PROBLEMS.

administrative anomalies. . mvuu , «urrX* TO. THX fiimJ [By Ma*A* c ■] . » aeries of articles f° r TH * by 3 c ° ntn ; mgiven his subject years of bowe«r, identity ouneiyss «„ w.lh the opimoM expresi,-c - £ 1» iWI 11. Tie total ° f any real policy in v.- Zealand regarding wild-life con- ■ vrficvt that of inertia, is evidenced N S«ent, that have been made a . # nast months. Some time startling ngure, relate fat remarksbie increases or deer m . w Zealand were published in the * w d at once had their repercus- - in tie House of Bepresentatives, "! fP| t he note of alarm was vigorously tfth the Hon. P. A. de la Perr-lle, Mm- ' for Internal . Affairs, appeased hers by stating that "at the moment iETDe»rtmeat of Internal Affairs was «om»«»ieation with the aoclimatisa- : B .r«xrieties in the hope of receiving as t0 the best metllod of with the problem," and further kTiSariii* that "it appeared to him jL, time had come for permission given for deer to be shot at all yjie Commissioner of State (tie Hon. W. B. Taverner), on *!gZfeor 19th, followed r uch on the m Uses, remarking: "Either the STsad deer had to be destroyed, or jL.tma*i would be destroyed. There _ m guddie course." He even went M fsr W to speak of "the exterminatm areeeee," and included moose and i 0 tie same category as all other r*T Coming from Ministers, who are „ If sympathised with in having inhgtoi tie muddle that wild-life jg this country have got into, tfefM V*aded very encouraging statentga, but it would appear that both Yfai+wn will require to take very tfgte action themselves with their Hiputamts and the acclimatisation Pflttk* before any satisfactory limnifrrl action can be hoped for. Ope Season for Shooting Deer. 9a far from any open season all-the-tmr-rMsd for the shooting of deer, wtftow U>9 necessity of having to pay far a beenae, laving been proclaimed the Minister's pronouncement, Mnt eipccted. quite the reverse appaa to be happening. According to nteei Gaaettt notices the same ill policy of restricted deer-shooting gmfn<w to the various districts conusan » operate unchanged, and the {mmi are garerned by such restriction *s that no Licensee shall allow w* doc to accompany Mm or his at(HnfinT and no person shall be aufririf j to sell any deer or any porin thereof. So rigidly is the deer fostered by the Internal Afiatci Dwartme nt and the acclimatisa- I rm societies that any person ccmmittag a hnafh of the conditions of the lohm is liable to a fine cn convictM oi £». Ac ope* deer-shooting season in 111 tamos dtstri.-ts for 1330 are to ntf from \lar?h Ist to May 31st. in NBt cams extending only over one Math, while the license-fees are to (■apt from £1 Is to as much as £5 mm. OnW in the case of the Welawl Feilding Acclimatisation #£nct« are tie periods to extend for * Img as fran March loth to Sepfe« of £o is to be charged m no oi tJbe districts moat badly afvis., the Hunter Vallev niSdhMO districts in Otago, and tint IMMi are to shoot only on the *kxfa*»fcd tn thft license! As if Iji reversal of tie declara- 1 tMaadilgHbe Minister for Internal A fain 'Vet it apeared to him that QMrkad oome for permission to be jj roi f«r for to be shot at all times," nMOcoaeßt csmo from Tnverthy Minister's own district, on fawfcr bt, that the Southland AcSociety had actually alntel Ibdn by baUot for the shcot«K of Nd deer, wapiti, and mouse, fr mtot menace to the ansur- » s** Mtnial beauty of the whole of pwlrndb district! How does the ! Mlfciir who is really responsible, ac•wt for thn remarkable change of (■T? Km lie been overruled, and. *», has it been by.his own Depart- *■ tie acclimatisation societies 5

«f Tfcar and Chamois. ike Minister's position * Mag BttHuwiit and the country MMfitedt »till, in view of his pro■Mtt ftatowats last session, further g—l>> Mtiees appeared on 20th txixg the open season for **l% cfcaaois and thar in the 9jNi Up from April Ist to ■T IWi, at a fee of £5 per license, P (X) that the number of tfamraes shall take or kill 2S5i * we kwk» (Aether chamois -¥*■)* ** (®) that no doe or fawn 3? 5 Mm* «» killed "on any proConsidering that tSMIMd thar have been allowed to Multiply is the Southern i3-By* r . rigid protection Wkmur of » century, that dur;*gm fried they have spread from &SK&A, tta point of release, to as >• Marlborough, and that Bw only on the glorious alftmovneed by celebrated bdig the most unique in question should soon most pronounced form as Mir magnificent flora is to saerificed for the plealic*a*eea who desire to *°otieg in the Southern 9k * frtaialy a matter upoa of New Zealand's suand shrubs will ■BHSMpWf opinions, but these ajBffiEHIPMB vtless a strong stand is the policy of allowing jS&HSVI* ®*b<mal heritage to be 'SIBSSLIt!? and fosdestructive and useless for the gratification of Mted few. ' *® B ' e ® er Over-ruled? The public, with °f the Ministers' l|Hp^^*®' ees to Parliament, par|ME[ re P«»entatives of the i have read with [2l*£2Z l^e "statement of Wt.^ZLl-T* °' the authori'or publication" on fNm ' "fcy the Minister for "A suggestion has CM|b v to time that pro- . entirely removed,'' sSSB l a ®stionable whether have the effect Mil "the suggest'le Minister himWm UnTT*",* 42,1 it had the rjlfihfc °f stifling further M ji. subsequent statement **me of the Minister ■ to the belief that overruled by "the J**? " tbe ant horities" V.® does not say, but *kle to explain. 5*% innl enumerates past are een 50 * n " *Uow the deer menace mr

to assume its present proportions, and then goes on to announce: (1) That arrangements have been made with the acclimatisation sooieties to "inaugurate a greater scheme than existed in the past for the culling of the animals."

(2) That acclimatisation societies will supply free ammunition to oceupiers of property and others desiring to destroy deer. (3) That there will be "no limit to the number or sex of the deer that may be taken or killed by a deer-stalker during the open season." The first proposal may mean much or little, according to the vigour with which the calling is conducted, but so faj> judging by the absence of announcements made by the acclimatisation societies in general, it promises only wholly disappointing results. The virtues of the supply of free ammunition remain wholly to be proved. As for the third decision allowing license-holders to shoot as many deer as they like, irrespective of heads or sex, it is specially noteworthy that this announcement was. made on November 28th, and that on December 20th, only three weeks later, the Gazette contained notices under the Minister's own signature limiting the number of licenses for the shooting of thar and chamois in the Southern Alps, restricting the number of bucks that may be shot bj any ore licensee to two, and prohibiting the shooting of any does or fawn on "any pretext whatever!" Of course, the Minister will say that thar and chamois are not deer, that they belong only to the goat and antelope species, but whatever their classification may be, it is patent that, because no one yet has raised a hubbub about these, the Minister, the Internal Affairs Department, and the acclimatisation societies, are prepared to go on allowing our mountain flora to be sacrificed! ■ While the culling of thar and chamois is thus prohibited and the "intensive" culling of deer is to be indulged m, according to this programme, it is highly instructive to note that at a meeting of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society held on October 9th last the chairman (Mr L. O. H. Tripp) was reported in the Wellington Press as having stated: "Unfortunately, those who were out to get heads would not bother about hinds." Yet for the culling of deer oa an adequate scale tne

Dejprtment of Interna! Affairs is largely relying on the co-operation of the acclimatisation societies. How it views this reported statement by Mr Tr*pp, who is also president of the New Zealand Acclimatisation Societies' Association, remains to be disclosed, especially when Mr Tripp might have added that licenses are really only issued to stalkers and few stalkers will shoot anything under better heads than they already possess, because of the tiouble of getting them out and their worthlessness, and "blazing away" in culling only deprives the stalker of any chance of securing the better head he is after. If the plain truth be told, the stalker (i.e., the license-holder) is the very last person that can be relied on for culling, because culling is against his own immediate interests. Nevertheless, through the acclimatisation societies, it is upon him that the Internal Affairs Department appears to rely. When will it discover its mistake? It is significant that on December 7th the Minister for Internal Affairs announced that a conference of all parties interested in the question of deer control would be held in Wellington in March nest. Revenue From Deer Licenses. In view of the very real menace to our forests, and, therefore, to the future economic welfare of the country, it is difficult to understand the reason for the adoption of restricted deershooting seasons again this year, particularly in face of the Minister's statements in Parliament and the professed desire of the acclimatisation societies for the welfare of our native birds and forests. It is illuminating under these circumstances, therefore, to examine the revenue from deer-shooting licenses and the deer-culling expenses of the five principal acclimatisation societies in New Zealand for the year ended March 31st 19-9. These, as disclosed in their balance-sheets, are as follows: DeerDeer culling Societv, Licenses. Expenses. £ £ "Wellington • • 462 71 North Canterbury .. nil 301 South Canterbury 3 nil Otago .. -. 120 nil Southland .. 77 nil

The amount expended by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society was in tbe issue of free ammunition. Thus, dur-

ing the past financial year, the Wellington Acclimatisation Society received £462 in deer licenses and spent only £7l, apparently on culling, while the North Canterbury Society received nothing in deer revenue and spent £-331 in culling. In the light of these figures is it not fair to suggest that the reason governing the Wellington Acclimatisation Society's attitude is financial, and that in allowing itself to be so influenced it is placing the interests of the society before those of the country? With the single exception of the North Canterbury Society, which is genuinely trying to do its job, a number of the other acclimatisation societies in New Zealand appear to be very much in the same boat, and, with the Wellington Society, will do well to clear themselves of that imputation. Whether they will or not, however, remains to be seen. In any case, according to the evidence of their balance-sheets, it is an awkward position for them to get out of. A Candid Confession. It is remarkable that, of late, acclimatisation societies have been insisting that they were not responsible for the introduction of deer into the country. Neither they were, but they omit to add that deer have been introduced, fostered, and protected on their behalf, that several of them even now actually possess deer parks for breeding purposes, and that they have received all the revenue from deer-shoot-ing licenses. What now is their attitude regarding culling? Considering that so many of the societies did little or nothing in this respect last year, yet had no hesitation in receiving all the deer-license revenue, they might have been expected, in view of the very definite menace now revealed, to cull on tne grand scale this year, but beyond one or two expeditions to be sent out by the Wellington Society announcements in this direction are conspicuous by their absence.

Whither, then, is the situation trending! A highly interesting statement in this connexion appeared in the "Otago Daily Times" of October 31st, in the form of an interview with Mr J. K. Wilson, of Tawanui, a millowner in the Catlins district, and a memb.r of the Council of ctfie of the acclimatisation societies, in which he frankly declares that "acclimatisation societies could not be expected to control the deer."

There was one point, however, upon which Mr Wilson was particularly emphatic. (says the interviewer}. New

Zealand acclimatisation societies he was on the Council of one of them—although few of them seemed disposed to admit, were powerless to cope with the situation. They were_ merely fish and game protection organisations, and the sooner they realised it the better for the country forests. Financially they were not in a position effectively to control deer, and at the same time they lacked the necessary organisation. The work should be undertaken by the State, which, with its wider ramifications and adequate finance, could be reasonably expected to look after the Dominion's forest assets.

There will be few, if they examine the question at all, who will dispute the soundness of that statement. The next and concluding article will deal with further aspects of the policy of divided control and of the position of the acclimatisation societies.