POACHED SKINS

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 51, 1 March 1934, Page 12

POACHED SKINS

EETTJENED TO PTJECHASEES

MINISTER'S LEGAL REASONS

Defending Ms action in returning to the purchasers opossum skins taken by an illegal method the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. J. A. Young), before a deputation of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society which waited on the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. (J. W. Forbes) yesterday afternoon, said that he had acted as he did on the advice of the legal advisers to the Crown, and he had so informed the secretary of the society. The deputation consisted of the chairman (Dr. G. F. V. Anson), Messrs. A. Seed, B. H. Nimmo, W. J. H. Haase, and E. J. C. Wiffin, secretary of the society The Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs (Mr. Malcolm Fraser), and Mr. J. Bennett, of the Department, were also present. A SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION. Dr. Anson said that the society was becoming dissatisfied with the general administration of the opossum regulations. Opossums were introduced by the society, which had spent considerable sums in fostering the industry many years before opossums came under regulations. The Government had taken the revenue from roj'alties, this year granting the society only onethird of it. The society had realised that of late there had been a good deal of illegal taking of opossum skins. It had gone to a good deal of trouble to get a prosecution, and had succeeded in proving that a certain line of skins Lad been poisoned. The legal expenses involved amounted to £30, not including ranging costs. The society naturally thought when the Magistrate ordered the forfeiture of those skins that they would be sold and that the 'society would be assisted in meeting the expenses it had incurred in obtaining the prosecution. One of the society's greatest grievances was that it was not seriously consulted in the matter, and when an opportunity to interview the Minister was sought" it was denied them. Dr. Anson added that 90 per cent, of the farmers were dissatisfied with the Government's policy whereby there was no protection of deer in the Wellington Province. Mr. Nimmo said that the society, instead of receiving encouragement from the Minister, had received a setback. MINISTER'S REPLY. In replying, Mr. Young said that the amount of opossum revenue paid to the societies was a question, of general policy and one for the Government to decide. The question of the destruction of deer was also one of policy. The deer menace was a real one, particularly in the South Island, and they did not want the same state of affairs in the North Island. Property holders had the right to control persons shooting over their own properties. ■ Some of the comments of members of the society as reported in the newspapers were quite unreasonable, said Mr. Young. It had been suggested that the Minister was ignorant, and hostile to the society. That was not so. The ignorance was not on the part of the Minister, but if there were any it lay with society. The skins had been returned to the brokers after the whole matter and the files dealing with the question had been referred to the Crown Law Office, which had advised that in the circumstances there was no authority for the confiscation of the skins. In the face of that advice he had to act accordingly. He was not prepared to put his view up against that of the Government's legal advisers. Correspondence between the society and himself was referred to by the Minister. The society had informed him, he said, that it desired to prosecute the possessor of the skins. Ho had been asked whether he was averse to the society holding on to the skins pending the prosecution on its own account against 'the return of the skins, and had replied that he had no objections provided he was not involved in any legal complications. The society had not instituted a prosecution, however. The skins had not been certified as required under the regulations, and to that extent the society had more or less condoned the practice. There had been no failure on his part. The failure was with the society in that it did not prosecute the parties in possession of the skins. A MISSED OPPORTUNITY? A member of the deputation said that as a result of the intervention of the holidays the society had missed by a few hours the time in which a prosecution of this nature could be launched. The Minister concluded by saying that the persons who owned and who were in possession of the skins were neither prosecuted nor convicted, consequently, there could be no confiscation of the skins. The parties who were prosecuted and convicted neither owned nor were in possession of the skins, consequently there were no skins to confiscate. The whole trouble had arisen over the fact that the society did not prosecute the people in possession of the skins. - ( The Prime Minister said he recognised that the acclimatisation societies were doing good work, and the Government and the Minister were out to do the best by. them.