Wanted Alive Campaign

Press, 21 April 1982, Page 20

Wanted Alive Campaign

Sir,—Extinct 61 species; endangered 32 species. Only a small country, ours has a special international significance because of its long isolation from other land masses. Out of necessity, the early settlers waged war on forest, scrub, tussock and wetland, habitats of a unique wildlife, to convert this “useless” vegetation into land suitable for productive monocultures. What excuses have our politicians and bureaucrats for .destroying 83 per cent of the virgin West Taupo podocarp forests since 1946, and for even now hesitating to protect the pitiful 15,000 ha that still survive? In commending the work of the New Zealand Native Forests Restoration Trust, the Minister of Internal Affairs says: “I would like to see every New Zealander supporting this plan (raising and planting out native seedlings) to secure the future of our unique animals and birds and the forests in which they live.” The dedicated people who run this trust, and the scientists of the Wildlife Service, deserve all the encouragement we can give them. — Yours, etc., ERIC BENNETT. • April 18, 1982.