WAR ON DEER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23731, 11 February 1939, Page 9

WAR ON DEER

LAST SEASON'S TOLL FORTY THOUSAND ANIMALS INTENSIVE CAMPAIGN (Special to Daily Times) WELLINGTON, Feb. 10. During the 1937-38 season, extending from November to April, nearly 100 men engaged by the Department of Internal Affairs to wage war on deer in New Zealand, destroyed 40,000 animals, including deer, goats, thar, and chamois, all of which play havoc in native forest. The work has been carried out in spite of tremendous difficulties, such as bad weather, flooded rivers, vast forests, lack of transport facilities, and trackless country. Within recent years the campaign agains;t deer has been intensified and last year the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E. Parry) visited some of the infested areas. He expressed concern at the havoc wrought in forest lands by deer, and said he' was much impressed with the necessity for removing the menace. Badly-infested areas in the North Island are the Tararua, Ruahine, and Kaimanawa ranges, and in the South Island deer are plentiful in the mountain ranges extending from Foveaux Strait to Pelorus Sound. Originally introduced with the object of providing sport for huntsmen, deer found New Zealand an agreeable country with an abundant food supply and an absence of natural enemies. In rugged mountain territories they thrived and multiplied where their increase was not obvious till the excess deer population overflowed in such numbers that the stock-carrying capacity of scattered farm lands in back country was considerably reduced. Settlers' Problems The position became so acute that in some districts it became a question of whether the deer or the stock would occupy back-country land. Because of the vast areas of country needing protection, settlers were faced with a difficult problem, and it was not till the Department of Internal Affairs took the question in hand that the extermination of deer was started on a concerted and national scale. Three years ago the department intensified its campaign, by evolving a comprehensive plan of systematically and regularly combing the infested areas. Both North and South Island were divided into sectors that could be worked each season, and with the exception of a few isolated areas where deer were less harmful, all affected country was included within 'the scope of the department's operations. Record Season Each sector was divided into areas under the control of field officers of the department—highlv skilled and experienced hunters with many years of experience—and each area was divided into smaller groups capable of being worked by parties of tw to five men, armed with .303 rifles. The 1937-38 season was a record one for the number of kills recorded, and the organisation is said to be so complete that no portion of any block is missed. .Though a certain amount of deerstalking is carried out in the winter months, by far the greater portion f the killing is done in the spring, summer and autumn, when the weather usually allows men to operate on high country where deer occupy the ulpine tops above the timber line, and are more easily found and destroyed. The organisation is also engaged in dealing with wild goats, thar, and chamois, in localities where they threaten the welfare of forest life.