THE DEER MENACE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 92, 18 March 1936, Page 8

THE DEER MENACE.

Destruction of the herds of deer which are causing incalculable damage to the forests of both islands is to be undertaken by the Department of Internal Affairs on a more vigorous basis; Mr Barry is summoning to Wellington the leaders of the various parties engaged in exterminating deer to discuss a future plan of operations. The Minister is fully alive to K the menace from this pest, kV and within the limits imposed upon the Department’s activities by the amount of finance granted by Parliament, and the training of men for the work, is determined to make extermination as effective as it possibly can be. He will be widely commended for any vigorous action he takes. A few days ago Sir Walter Carncross warned an audience in Eltham of the very apparent danger ' to Taranaki should the native bush disappear. He might very well have said New Zealand, instead of the province in which he lives. People in this district need not be reminded of the very great havoc being done to the forests on the Tararua Ranges. The last report of the Department of Internal Affairs told a story of the destruction of trees and undergrowth in the precipitous valleys near • the headwaters of half a dozen rivers that can only have one consequence—severe flooding from excessive rainfall with its inevitable destruction of lowland pastures. These ramparts in the ranges are Ihe sentinels of the farmers below, but only when clothed in their native vegetation can they perform their task as allotted by Nature. The greater the damage done by deer —and it is now at a most serious sta*ge—the less chance has the forest of recovering any semblance of its former value to the country. How absolutely necessary it is for the Department to widen its activities can be gauged from Sir -Walter Corncross’s statement that the destruction of one thousand deer a week does not keep pace with the natural increase. The sum of £4OOO granted by Parliament for the work is not sufficient. Sir Walter described it as a drop in the bucket, and he would have it multiplied many times to enable us to fulfill our obligations as trustees for posterity. If alpine growth and the forests are to be preserved, and farmers near the affected country saved from damage to their crops, the country must be prepared to face the cost. Vigorous action now will save incalculable loss in the future.