BIG GAME IN NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 4978, 30 May 1903, Page 5 (Supplement)

BIG GAME IN NEW ZEALAND

SUGGESTIONS OF AN ENGLISH. SPURT. At the meeting of tho Otago Acclimatisation Society Council recently, an interesting Jotter was read from 3tr ot. George Lutledalo, a wolbknown English authority on deer-stalking, ‘""ho •vrittcu several works on tlic subject. The letter, as quoted by the "Otago Daily Times, 5 ' contains much of interest to sportsmen in this colony. The writer says:—* , “Big game is rapidly .becoming exterminated in all parts of the world, and if New Zealand wc.ve seriously to lay herself out to acclimatise suitable animals she would have a mine of wealth ? the value of which would be difficult to over-estimate. In her back country she has iuimcnso tracts of land which, as far as present knowledge geos, is valueless except for big game. Tho red doer brings'annually into tho Highlands of Scotland iu shooting rents, gillies’ wages, etc., huge sums of money, and there is no reason -why tho same thing should not 1 be in New Zealand. There is no doubt that did Now Zealand! once got a name for sport,'with its glorious climate, rich men would' flock from all parts of the'world to participate in it, and would leave a golden harvest behind them, not only in tho sporting districts, hut,' once attracted to the island, in ■ other parts ‘as well. But the one thing of all others tlmt would,induce men to come so far would bo the probability of their being able to secure fine heads. As far as actual_ stalking goes, it probably can bo enjoyed in greater perfection :in Scotland than, from the nature of the country, oyer will bo tho case here, and the same thing applies to the number of stags that could be shot; but there is one thing that New Zealand stands pre-eminent in, and that is the size and grandeur of her heads. In order to reap the full advantage of that it is necessary that all poaching should bo sternly repressed. Heads have now a marketable value, and some of the local men find it quite worth their while to shoot the big beads in or out of’ season, with or without a license,' and run the risk of a prosecntion.

“In tho Hawoa district this goes tm te a great extent and if this and‘shooting the hinds for meat is not checked there is no doubt that a tew local poachers, while putting a few pounds in their own pockets, will divert thousands and thousands I from : the colony at, large. ' Take the single instance of my wife and myself. "Wo were attracted here solely i; fcy ■ the deer, and before wo go shall certeamnly have left behind in the colony between £3OO and £4OO. Hie remedies I would propose, arei . “1. The silo of heads should bo absolutely illegal.’ ’You have an excellent precedent for this., The Kashmir Government has passed, and strictly enforces, a law forbidding the sale of heads for the identical reasons given above. “2. The' inspectors should be men unconnocted’with the district. It is asking too much of a man ! to inform, against his neighbour, with whom he must hare constant business- and social dealings. 3.' Increase the cost of licenses to £5, and only issue them to people of good character, and before issuing make the applicant take an. affidivat that'he has not in the past broken any cf the game laws. The price of the extra license to kill four additional heads might well bo increased* from £5 to £lO. “4. No heads under 12 points to bo shot. This would come a little hard for the first year or two, but later on everybody would reap the reward. It is | difficult sometimes to make sure of tho exafct number of points, and I shot two stags which, at the moment of firing, I believed-to bo royals, which turned out not to be. In such a case the culprit ought to declare it to the Society, and. a fine suitable always imposed, otherwise mistakes (?) might be common. In the event of no declaration, then a very heavy fine and no future’license. "There are hundreds of thousands of acres higher than the deer line which at present are entirely uninhabited, and I should - suggest that the society strain every nerve tq got hold of "Chamois.—lf possible from Hungary. "Ibex—Capia Siborica; if possible from : Central Asia—preferably the Thian Shan. "Caucasian Jur—Cat>ia Cancasica, Western Caucasus; Capia Pallasi, Eastern Caucasus.

“All' these three goats are magnificent animals, and would in all probability gl ow to perfection in tbo alpine sections of the country. : “As there are large districts at present without any deer, tire society .could hardly do better than to start fresh herds of deer, which, though closely allied to the red doer, are much larger ■in body and hern . In the Caucasus and Northern Persia there is a grand stag almost approaching the wapiti in size of body, but having horns of the red deer type. This would be a very desirable species for New Zealand. “In Southern Siberia a stag closely; allied to the American wapiti; Large herds of these animals are kept in captivity by the natives, who cut off the stags’ horns when in the velvet, and sell them to the Chinese for medicine. As much as £ls will sometimes be paid for an extra fine pair. Being already half-tame, there would be less risk with them than with the wild animal. 1 should estimate that a herd of tea brought to London would cost about £250 —£100 for purchase and £l5O for transport. ' “The Hungarian variety of red deer run very large, and there would, _ I fancy, bo not much difficulty getting them.

“The roe deer (preferably the Siberian variety) would probably do well in the bush country. 'Though not a sporting animal, the beaver might flourish, and a visit to a beaver dam would add much to the interest of a tourist trip to the maimtains. They are occasionally offered for. sale in England. The director of the Smithsonian Institute, U.S.A., would probably put you in the way of getting some.”