Stoats

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32998, 18 August 1972, Page 12

Stoats

Sir, —A lot is being said about pollution and the destruction of our environment, but I do not think people are aware that our beautiful native birds are decreasing in numbers at an alarming rate. I have good reason to believe that the stoat is on the increase in the back country and forest areas and suggest that this animal is the biggest culprit in destroying our bird-life, especially the birds which do not nest high in the treetops. There is a stoat trap available now which I would lik- to see put to more use by every person entering the back country and bush areas. Are the National Park Boards aware of this problem and, if so, what is being done about it? From my observation in these areas, stoati are increasing in the forest and even on the high tops. I hope it will not be too late before New Zealanders wake up that their bird-life is diminishing.— Yours, etc., R. W. BELL. Mount White, Cass. July 24, 1972. [Mr R. J. Maclachlan, chairman of the National Parks Authority, replies: “Both the National Parks Authority and the national park boards are well aware of the presence of stoats in national parks and the effect they have on bird life. National park rangers have been specifically instructed to destroy stoats, weasels, and ferrets at every opportunity, and the Wildlife Division of the Department of Internal Affairs set traps in special areas of parks to keep the population of such animals down to a minimum. It is the National Parks Authority’s policy to encourage research into the bird life and animal populations within nation! parks and this is at present being carried out by ranger staff, the New Zealand Forest Service, the Wildlife Division of the Department of Internal Affairs, and the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. Also the Ecology Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has recently appointd a specialist scientist to intensify studies into stoats, etc., and co-operation with this division in future research has been arranged.’’]