DESTRUCTIVE ANIMALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19232, 22 January 1926, Page 10

DESTRUCTIVE ANIMALS.

THE OPOSSUMS AND DEER, MR. ANDERSON ANTAGONISTIC. [BY. TELEGRAPH. —rRESS ASSOCIATION.] DUNEDIN. Thursday. In the course of an address to tho Nurserymen's Conference yesterday, the Hon. G. J. Anderson, Minister of Labour, said he was sorry that some imported animals had been brought to New Zealand. He had removed the protection from the opossums, and had declared an open season so that they could make commercial use of these.

Ho . said that deer were going to destroy the New Zealand forests, "as sure as , the sun rose," and they should eliminate them altogether. Because a few tourists came here for shooting, were they going to allow their forests to be destroyed ?he asked. They should remember that those animals in their nativo country had thousands of miles over which to range, and they had put them in a little corner of New Zealand in among forests never used to animals of that sort. As the animals increased they would destroy the forests and make the land a barren wilderness instead of the beauty spot it was to-day. Later the following remit from Masterton was considered:—"That, in the interests of the fruit industry, the confer-' ence ask tho Government to remove all protection from the opossums, at least in districts near fruitgrowing areas." In moving its adoption Mr. L. Robinson said it was brought forward to support the fruitgrowers. Mr. G. A. Green said the opossum was an enemy of stone, citrus and pip fruit. He had seen an orange tree in the North on which tha> centre of tho fruit had been eaten out Dy these animals.

■ Mr. V. C. Davies, Taranaki, said the opossum was destroying forests in the North. It was eating out the native trees.

Mr. 'J. A. Campbell, of the horticultural division, pointed out :thafc. there had been a regulation which allowed the killing of opossums within a half-mile radius of a registered orchard. It had been found, however, that orchards had been registered • solely to give the owners the right to kill the. opossums, (Laughter!) That had had a, very bad. effect. Anyone who had a single fruit tree and registered. it' as an orchard had the right to kill an opossum .within- -half a mile of tho tree. Iho .regulations ■, had, been .relaxed, and the orchardist was allowed to kill the animals only within the area ,of tho orchard. . Tho remit was adopted. ' v * •