DEPREDATIONS BY DEER

Evening Star, Issue 18052, 21 August 1922, Page 8

DEPREDATIONS BY DEER

DAMAGE TO FORESTS. DIRECTOR’S REPORT. [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, August 19. The opossum has become a. permanent denizen of the Now Zealand forests, _ and promises, according to the Director of the Forestry Department, to become a very productive source of by-revcimo to the Ktato and profit to the community; bub when the Director turns to deer ho declares that this animal is rapidly becoming an. unmitigated nuisance throughout Rotorua, Wairarapa, Central Wellington, Nelson, Otago., Southland, and Westland. Its rapid increase is causing considerable alarm and concern in many parts of the countxy, as well as causing serious damage to cereal and root crops. A very substantial destruction of natural tree regrowth, plantations, and reproduction has already resulted in those districts. The annual loss from this source is estimated at £IOO,OOO in some districts. Ho adds: “It is now a case of deer or forests. It is satisfactory to note that a conference has been called 1 of certain acclimatisation societies to consider this question, and already steps have been taken to keep the herds in check.- The Forest (Service has undertaken a comprehensive survey of the animal, its depredations, its possible economic usefulness, and means of control.”