Deer wars and helicopters

Press, 10 December 1983, Page 22

Deer wars and helicopters

The Deer Wars: The Story of Deer in New Zealand. By Graeme Caughiey. Heinemann (NZ), 1983. 180 pp. Bibliography, illustrations. $17.95.

Arguments about deer, and “deer wars”, are nothing new in New Zealand. Almost since the first release of the animals there have been disputes about the damage they cause, their value to the country, and how best they might be controlled.

Caughiey, a scientist with wide experience of wildlife in many parts of the world, has written a careful, personal assessment of nearly a century of “deer wars”. He concludes with a vigorous plea for the rights of private hunters, and for the importance of deer hunting as part of a way of life for many New Zealanders.

The Chopper Boys: New Zealand’s Helicopter Hunters. By Rex Forrester. Whitcoulls, 1983. 168 pp. $14.95 (paperback). The splendid photographs in this book show how spectacular hunting from a helicopter can be. The statistics show the venture is not without risks. In the six years to 1982, 208 helicopters crashed while hunting, 17 pilots and shooters were killed, 40 were injured, and 72 helicopters were destroyed. Helicopter hunting has become the basis of the booming deer-farming industry. With economic success has come poaching and occasional violence. Forrester has put together a vigorous, exciting account. Te Rauparaha: A New Perspective. By Patricia Burns. Penguin, 1983. 299 pp. Notes, bibliography, index, illustrations. $14.95 (paperback). Patricia . Burns’ biography first appeared in 1980. It has been accepted as a notable and scholarly reassessment of one of New Zealand’s best-known Maori leaders in the turbulent times of the first European settlement. At the same time, it is easily read, attractively presented, and tells a rousing story of a great leader’s vision and final tragedy. This is one work of New Zealand history that deserves to be read by everyone interested in this country’s past.