VALUE OF RANGING

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 23, 27 July 1933, Page 13

VALUE OF RANGING

SOCIETY'S EIEST DUTY

CONSERVATION OF GAME

MR. R. H. NIMMO'S VIEWS

Suggestions made at the meeting of the representatives of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society and Wairarapa licence-holders recently, that the council do without rangers for twelve mouths and thus savo their expense, or do without one of them, were strongly attacked by Mr. B. H. Nimmo in an interview today. He pointed out that acclimatisation societies had statutory duties, and that they would be failing to both the Government and to sportsmen if they did not adequately conserve the fish and game entrusted to their care.

"It is inconceivable that anyone should make such a suggestion with a knowledge of the duties of the rangers and of the society's responsibilities," said Mr. Nimmo. "These duties are by no means confined to the seasonal ranging of rivers, forests, and lakes, in the actual fishing, oppssum, or shooting seasons. In fact, the work extends over the whole of the year, and often their various activities in connection "with one or other of the main issues mentioned overlap. The fishing season commences on October 1 and extends until April 30, the shooting season extends over. May, June, and July, and the opossum season this year covers July and August. September, it will be seen, is the only apparently free month, but that is usually the time when fry are being liberated over a large district, and, according to the amount of fry obtained and the dates it is available, this process means rush work to release tfce fry in as good condition, as possible, jpast stripping season, for the first time, the Manawatu ranger trapped the fish as well aa attending to his other duties. During the early part of September, moreover, the rangers have to see that all trappers are out of the forests. .Then, again, the shooting season and the opossum season overlap, and few pooplo realise the amount of work that is done by rangers in connection with opossums, quite apart from ranging the forests, which is done at all hours in the depth of winter. Last year the two rangers of the society porsonally looked over a great quantity of the skins handled in the Wellington district and acted as certifying officers, which means that each skin had to be marked and care taken against imposition in the matter of wrongful stamping. Then there is' the packing, transportation, and liberation of birds bred at the game farm, or obtained from outside, while there is quite a* largo amount of correspondence which the rangers handle in connection with various matters, supplying full reports of all their activities to the society as well. A WIDE TERRITORY. "The district which these two men cover extends from Waiouru, touching the Wanganui society's district, down the whole of the west coast to Wellington, and from Wellington up the other coast to the Waimata Biver. Incessant travel at all hours of the day and night is entailed in the ordinary activities of the society, while in such matters as obtaining evidence" towards convictions the rangers often spend several days in hunting up persons from information received, which is not always correct and sometimes ends in a lot of trouble, expense to the society, and loss of sleep for nothing. Much of the travel is often done far fro^n the roads, necessitating sleeping out in the bush, particularly at the present time. Apart from other considerations, nobody can deny that the actual convictions secured by these two. men fully justify their retention. In addition to set work, the rangers have another obligation, to guard protected bird lifi in their area throughout the whole year.: Ono has only to take into consideration the number-of cases of the shooting of pigeons detected to realise their activities in this direction. "They are, in fact, the chief contact between the society and the public, and the fact that they carry out a delicate task with so little friction and such fruitful results shows that they are the right type of man for the job. One of vthc rangers conducts all the Court, cases himself, thereby saving thp society considerable'expense, and if there are sometimes complaints that the rangers refuse to. take action, the number of convictions speaks for itself. What may satisfy an individual that an offence has been committed may not be sufficient proof to definitely charge someone with it to the satisfaction of the Court. . Bangers .must not only have a full knowledge of the intricacies of the Acts governing imported and native birds and animals, but they require also a knowledge of men, and a great deal of astutenbss, tact, and diplomacy to succeed in obtaining evidence that will enable a successful prosecution to be made. There is no doubt that although they fail in some cases, the success of our two rangers in so large a district is the strongest argument against dispensing with them. Would tlie dismissal of a police force tend to minimise crime f "ONLY EFFECTIVE DETERRENT." "Banging is the only effective deterrent upon the poacher, and when one considers the enormous amount expended on fishing and game, apart from other obligations from the society to the Government, it must be obvious to everybody that to suggest dispensing with even one of our rangers would be a retrogradei move. "If there is one thing more than another that should be discouraged, it is the purely rod and gun outlook on all wild life matters," said Mr. ( Nimmo. "It is as opposed to the interests of acclimatisation societies as it is to their discharge of the responsibilities vested in them by legislation. Banging is the only means of effectively conserving the stock ef fish and game which the societies havo built up over many years, and as one- who has a knowledge of the inner workings of the society I must protest against the suggestions I have named. They are dangerous to the welfare of sportsmen and acclimatisation societies in general, in view of the definite obligations of the societies' to the Government in return for the privileges we enjoy, which we must continue to justify, if they are to be retained."