Canterbury tiger farmer sees export wealth in whiskers

Press, 1 April 1980, Page 16

Canterbury tiger farmer sees export wealth in whiskers

By

A. F. BURRY

If. the enterprise of a group of Christchurch businessmen- bears fruit there are prospects for a lucrative new export industry for Canterbury. Cuiverden farmer and mountaineer Hardy Blighter returned recently from a visit to. India and Nepal convinced that the Bengal tiger, which once ranged freely across India, could be * acclimatised to New-Zealand. In Delhi he became aware of the special qualities of tiger, whiskers, and of the very high prices which they commanded as . a result of the rapid decline .in tiger numbers in Asia. Inquiries convinced him of the possibilities of tiger farming. On his return to New Zealand he had discussions with prominent solicitor .. -Ivan Slick and well known financier Henry Wheel which have resulted in the registration of a new company — Canterbury Tiger Products No Liability. , , ■ It is not as widely known as it should be that the whiskers of the male tiger have aphrodisiac properties far surpassing those of deer velvet. Powdered tiger whiskers have been used for this purpose in the -East . for many centuries.- - , Unsatisfied demand - has recently forced the pnce Pf tiger whiskers in .Macau clearing houses as high as $30,000 a short gram, up to a. gram of whiskers can be ■harvested from. a tolly grown tiger twice « yeaAthe economic potential of tiger farming becomes obVi Other saleable by-products of a tiger breeding industry are tigeris milk from wtoh a delicious and highly priced cheese is made, tiger skins and, curiously enou^’. / . t,^® r dung which is a ba ®*s. ‘ ' gradient in certain Chinese herbal medicines. . . - The company and is fencmg e ir of L Blighter ;J ® al ” ger restraint

.electric fence. This can be erected at a fraction of the cost of the conventional wrought iron barriers. A standby, diesel generator will be' installed if experience ' proves this necessary. tigresses have been acquired and veterinary surgeon Claud Freely, who has had considerable experience with tigers, will carry out artificial insemination to get the breeding programme off with a bang. The tigers will be fed on sheep raised on the Blighter property and on ewe mutton which will no longer have to be sold to Russia. The company is reticent as to the techniques which will be used in tiger husbandry; suggestions, have been made that popular agents Valium and Mogadon will be added to feeds in apSriate dosage when 'haring and other procedures are to be carried out. It is planned to maintain a herd of 500 tigers. News of the company’s plans leaked from commercial sources. have ■aroused a mixed reception. The Deerstalkers’ Association welcomed efforts to arrest the decline in numbers of one of the top sporting animals, but a spokes* man said that members were up in arms at the suggestion that tigers should be raised only in captivity. Members felt that tigers would provide a first rate substitute for deer which are now almost unavailable through helicopter harassment. If tigers could be acclimatised in sufficient num- ■ bers, tiger safaris could be organised. Wealthy sportsmen from all over the world . would flock to New Zealand and the tourist industry would get a real shot in the arm. . • Of course it would be jiec- • essary to import a few ele.phantsl.jarid mahouts, but this should present no difficulties. The ' deers tai- , kers’. spokesman scoffed at •' the suggestion that . tigers • • were, dangerous.: “Tigers: are., naturally retiring animals and they only attack humans

when they are unusually hungry,” he said. .. Conservationists were undecided in their attitude to the proposal. Mildred Bleat, a spokesperson, said that members welcomed any. move which would avert the extinction of the Bengal tiger. On the other hand she expressed concern at, . the... possibility that tigers might escape from captivity, let alone that they should be re* leased. . It has been known since the time of Kipling that tigers particularly relish the flesh of the goat; they are fearless swimmers, she said, and if they get loose the Arapawa Island goats are even more doomed. . \ The. S.P.C.A. is totally opposed to the project, saying , the Bengal tiger is a proud animal. To deprive it of its whiskers would be an act of .

brutal cruelty and a blatant infringement of tiger rights. Understandably, the Canterbury Progress League is enthusiastic about the scheme and offered theleague’s support for an approach to Mr Muldoon to obtain electric power at -cut rates.

Some local farmers share Mr Blighteris enthusiasm for the project, seeing it as a valuable outlet for stock which have commanded a tepid response at the Addington Market. But Dudley Crutchings, Culverden president and president of the Coopworth society, . was apprehensive. ‘.‘Tigers are connoisseurs,” he said. “If they smell my stud: flock it will; take. more than an' electric fence to keep them in. There’ll be tigers- in Culverden over, my dead body!"