Whitney Expedition

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 94, 14 January 1939, Page 11

Whitney Expedition

Sir, —Replying to Air. Falla’s statement re this expedition, which emphasizes, like other museum people did at the time the expedition was operating, the fact that the permit to .take more than 840 specimens included many eea birds whicn are plentiful, it may be said that this is true, but the fact that permission was also given to take numbers of rare birds is not emphasized. One rare species was confined to a few acres only on a small island. The controlling department which issued the permit at the time refused our appeal to send a supervisor with the expedition, hut when the expedition had left for the sub-antarctic islands relented in. the face of a public protest and dispatched an officer to join them, which was impossible, as the exact whereabouts of the collectors was unknown. The officer was therefore marooned on Stewart Island. One cannot blame the American Aluseum of Natural History for taking what, they can get permission to kill, but most people will prefer to have our _ native birds here rather than their ekins i.u American museums.—l am. etc., E. A'. SANDERSON. President. Forest and Bird Protection Society AVellington, January 13.