DAMAGE BY DEER.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 92, 7 June 1912, Page 5

DAMAGE BY DEER.

PLIGHT OF RONGAHERE FABMEBS. 'Mr John Cruickshank, of Bongahere, brought under the notice of the Prime Minister on Wednesday the destruction wrought by the Blue Mountains deer to the settlers in that district. One fuuner, he said, had land in which he ' carried 2400 sheep and SO head ,of catt«, and he was prepared to pr o vo there w.ere also '21)00 deer on it. He himself had lost £t<(l through grass, turnips und crops being oaten oil' by deer. The revenue derived from a license to kill deer, amounted to £250 (o £3OO ii year, but the loss to the farmers was over £2OOO. The area of the deer country was 50,000 acres, and it was estimated there were 54,000 deer. It was impossible to erect lences to keep the deer out, and they were gradually eating the farmer out of house and home. The farmers were allowed to shoot dear found on cultivated land but this did not provide any relief, as the farmer would h ive to be shooting night and day. Mr Cruickshank suggested that protection should be taken olf deer altogether, and thought those responsible for the deer should pay for the damage they were doing. The Prime Minister admitted thai Mr Cruickshank had laid before him a very dillieult 1 problem,—whether the Government should be gone into, lie would go ' leave them with acclimatisation societ- ' ies. Whether the Acclimatisation. Society was going to carry out its re- I sponsibilities was a question which should be gone in to . He would go into tlie matter—it was not under his Department—on liis return to WeUinu*on - It was a very knotty problem. |