Hunter and conservation

Press, 19 October 1978, Page 13

Hunter and conservation

Sir, — If more con-1 servationists had an under-], standing of basic ecological], principles, they would be! ( able to more clearly appre-l, tiate the New Zealand situ-], ation with respect to], noxious animals. A forest ], can only carry a high ani-;, mal population for a limited]] period until quality food be-1, comes scarce. Environmental! ‘ resistance then forces num-], bers to drop to a level sus-]] tainable by the remaining:, vegetation. However this level is generally too high to|! ]allow forest to return to its; | pristine state. Control oper-| ]ations and recreational hunt-i I ing can further reduce ani- 1 ;mal numbers, allowing the] ] forest to begin to recover its', original healthy condition, i Conservationists must realise that total eradication is] ; neither, practicable nor warranted, as continual hunting l ] pressure maintains animal inumbers at a level capable; I of being carried by the for-! lest. The welfare of the for-! lest should always be the principal consideration, how-, ] ever, various groups tend to I perhaps mis-interpret this I I fundamental objective. — (Yours, etc., D. J. STRONGMAN, J. C. GAMBLE, j October 16, 1978.