Future of thar

Press, 31 October 1984, Page 18

Future of thar

Sir,—Thar have done such serious damage to the high alpine and sub-alpine vegetation of the central

Southern Alps that the only sensible policy is one of eradication. It saddens me that members of the Forest Research Institute could take the evidence otherwise. Thar have been reduced to low numbers now, but if the extermination policy is relaxed they could regain high numbers within a few decades. There is certainly no place for thar in national parks. The remaining areas where they occur (Landsborough and Ohau Valleys, Ben Ohau Range, Two Thumb Range, Arrowsmith Range, the Rangitata and Rakaia headwaters, and the western valleys from the Whataroa to the Whitcombe) are so close to national parks that it makes no sense to allow thar to remain there. A relatively inexpensive effort now, on top of the hundreds of thousands of dollars already spent on their control, would be enough to finish them off.—Yours, etc., D. J. ROUND. October 29, 1984.