ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 270, 10 August 1922, Page 5

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY

REMOVAL' of opossum re- - STRICTIONS.

A meeting of the, councbl of the Wellington) Acclimatisation Society was held last evening, the chairman (Mr. L. O. IL Tripp) presiding. On the motion of Mr. S. G. Nathan, it was decided to approach the Government with the idea of having the restrictions as to the trapping of opossums removed from private lunas in an area in the Wairarapa district, to be defined’. A communication received from the Department of Internal Affairs enclosed an application (from Df. IL C. 'Fatpke for authority to destroy hares in his property' at Wainui-o-matn, between July, 1922, and May, 1923. "Until eight years ago,” ran a passage in Dr. Faulke’s letter, "Wainui-o-mata had an open season for these animals. Subsequently to 1914 I obtained authority to destroy haros during' the close season, but in spite of our efforts they had already destroyed 1000 newly-planted apple trees; It is not. possible to carry .out the instructions of acclimatisation theorists by painting the bark and buds, because that is no use in the spring, unless frequently repeated, and as for wire-nebting the hares toon learn to climb over, and then do more harm. A few weeks ago ' I planted 1000 Douglas firs, and already the hares have bitten in perhaps 40 per cent, of the=e good trees." A permit was granted Dr. Faulke to l ehoot hares on his own property, subject, to the approval of the Internal Affaire Department.