NATURE—AND MAN

Grey River Argus, 3 May 1934, Page 3

NATURE—AND MAN

Deer Devastation FACTS V. FANCIES. (Edited by Leo Fanning). New Zealanders, the day has come for you to decide definitely whether it is more important to use your country for yourselves and your domestic animals or for wild deer, which are multiplying enormously in your forests. In places where they have eaten out all accessible food in the woods, they have invaded pastures and reduced the carrying capacity of land for sheep and cattle. After all. the deer pest is a much more serious problem than the so-called slump which is only a brief passing phase in the country’s history. By one of those queer tricks of fate, the slump is not due to a shortage of real wealth (the usable materials and manufactures. as distinct from money —the mere medium of exchange) hut to a superabundance of all the goods that matter for the comfortable maintenance of life. The slump, therefore, is a Gilbert! an comedy—in its final analysis—but the deer nuisance is a tragedy.

NATIONAL WELFARE OR “SPORT”? Persons who are eager to have deer protected so that they may be assured of the sport of stalking, are asserting that the “deer menace” is exaggerated. With these persons, who attach more importance to their own selfish' pleasure than to national welfare, it, is a case of the wish being father to the thought. Therefore they give i full play to their fancies on the deer, question, and cheerfully turn a blind eye to facts. With a shrug of the shoulders and impatient gestures, they dismiss the cumulative evidence of ex-' perts, and persist with their nonsensical clamour that the deer are not a danger to New Zealand. ‘ ‘ PODSNAPPERY’ ’ RAMPANT. In this attitude of fatuous futility, the defenders of the destructive deer remind one of Podsnap, in Charles Dickens’s “Our Mutual Friend.” Podsnap, a selfish superficial domineering individual, was never willing to listen to any reason except his own. Here is a passage which indicates the line of “Podsnappery ” — “Thus happily acquainted with his own merit and importance, Mr. Podsnap settled that whatever he put behind him he put out of existence. There was a dignified conclusiveness —not to add a grand convenience— I in this way of getting rid of disagreeables, which had done much towards establishing Mr. Podsnap in his lofty

place in .Mr. I’odsnap’s satisfaction. •1 d<»ii’t want to know about it; I don’l choose to di.-cuss it; .1 don’t admit it!’ Mr. Podsnap had even acquired a peculiar flourish of his right.; arm in often clearing (he world of its most difficult problems, by sweeping them Ixdiind him (and consequently i sheer away > with those words and a. flushed face. For they affronted j That is exactly how the deer devotees are behaving to-day in regard to the forests. With an indignant flush and a flourish they hope to sweep hard facts into oblivion, and to force their fetish of foolishness upon the Government. REMEMBER KAIBAB. I'he Kaibab (lame Preserve, a forested plateau of more than a million acres, by the Colorado River, Arizona, offers a memorable lesson to New Zealand on the subject of deer. It is mentioned by an American reviewer that for a number of years all hunting of deer was prohibited. Several hundred cougars, thousands of coyotes, i as well as many wildcats and a few gray wolves of the region were destroyed. The deer, relieved of the destructive effect of their wild and human enemies, quickly began to show a marked increase in numbers, and soon the officials of the United States Forest Service, who have charge of the preserve, became conscious of the alarming decrease of available foodsupply. Since the autumn of 1924 restricted hunting has been permitted with a view to trying, if possible, to save the range. Despite this action, testimony on all sides indicates that I great numbers of deer have died oil starvation, and the range has stoadilyj deteriorated. Free from natural enemies in the < forests of New Zealand —forests which are very sensitive to attack by browsing animals —the deer have increased alarmingly. The only safe policy for mankind is one which will wipe out ' the deer. Preference must be given 1 to national welfare against the shortsighted desires of stalkers. It has been definitely proved that the deer are a ruinous nuisance. Why play with a nuisance? There has been j far too much playing; the time has ' come for slaying, the whole year round, in all forests where deer are estab- ; lished. AN ELOQUENT MEMORIAL. A national lesson may be read on a monument by Burke’s Pass, which leads into the Mackenzie Country, in the lower part, of the South Island. Here is the eloquent inscription, which should be well impressed on the minds of all New Zealanders:— “To put on record that Michael John Burke, a graduate of Dublin University and the first occupier of Rancliff Station, entered that Pass-

known to the Maoris as T<» Kopi Opihi, in 1885. “Oh, ye who enter tin* portals of the Mackenzie to found homes, take the word of a < hild of the misty gorges ami plant forest trees for your lives! So shall your mountain facing ami river flats be preserved to your j children’s children and you for everI more. “2.200 feet above sea-level.” MURDEROUS GERMAN OWLS. German owls <-an thank deer for distracting attention from themselves at present. Next month will be the official “Bird Month ” iu the Native Bird Protection Society’s Calendar, but every month is a “bird month” for the vicious owl. in the sense that it never ceases iu its ruthless preying on the smaller native birds. Kind people are expected to help worthy birds to live during August—usually a \ ery cold month, when many birds are faced with a cost-of-living problem. That is the time when their vitality may be lowered by cold and hunger—and thus they fall easy victims for the voracious, ferocious alien owl. HAPHAZARD CONTROL. The Otago Acclimatisation Society, which is responsible for the introduction ol that horrible owl, is now an idle spectator of its havoc in many’ districts. This kind of casualness is another reminder of the urgent need of reform in control of wild life. Too much reliance has been placed on the various Acclimatisation Societies, which have not been notable for uniformity of policy. Executives come I and go. year by year, and notions and i motions change. It has been a queer I regime of haphazardness which has produced some grievous blunders and muddles. Moreover, these societies tend to become merely rod-and-gun clubs, with a vision limited by considerations of sport—but even along the line of sport the policies are apt to fail, through lack of the necessary long view. An editorial article in a recent issue of “American Game,” official magazine of the American Game Association. has this passage: The one thing that conservation needs most is continuity of policy. This is best obtained by continuity of service of experienced, efficient, officials. “The States have been notorious for the constant shifting o f administrative personnel. And conservation progress has been terriblv retarted there- . by. “On the other hand the United Stat- ■ os Government, and this is likewise true of the Canadian Government, has i constantly been held up as a shining ! example of what continuity of policy ■ and service means in conservation affairs.”