DEER MENACE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18063, 13 April 1933, Page 13

DEER MENACE

(To tlio Editor of tilt* Herald.) Sir,-—We road many of those reports nowadays, but I often think that j the problem is not nearly so serious (as “Turanganui ” believes. 'While admitting the deer .are doing a certain amount of damage to the New Zealand forest, undergrowth, .[ have not seen anywhere where the rain has j washed away the soil causing the large trees to fall, because even if the undergrowth was killed out, trees of even ISin. diameter and say 10ft:. part have siteh a mass of small surface roots that it is almost impossible in most cases for the heaviest rain to have noticeable effect on the soil. Of course, if the small trees are killed out in great numbers it must in time be detrimental, but, J believe, the deer will be practically extinct before this ■ever happens. There is a, large proportion of the deer that feed on grass and tussock land, and have only .scrub and second growth for cover. How .have the forests in other countries ifared? Have the forests of the Carj path in n Mountains (some of the best •deer country in the world) died out as a result of the deer? If is possible that ia a few hundred years New Zealand may be practically treeless, but I ’.venture to suggest that this will be I caused mainly by fire, the axe, and 'various imported woodboring insects. The main deer herds of New Zealand are (located in high, rocky mountain ranges, j snow-covered for long periods and |clothed in tussock and stunted birch bush. These forests are so poor that jin many cases they do not harbor even native birds. What, does “Timuiganiu” isuggest as a means of controlling this j so-called pest? The Government has, during the past few years, expended fairly large sums in culling, but it is

easy to understand that this method cannot be adopted indefinitely,, ns the cost is too great for the results obtained, owing to the herds being scattered and inaccessible. The greatest slaughter has probably been accomplished during the last few years when the Government took control of the herds and declared open all-the-yoar-rouiid seasons for shooting, by which means thousands of deer are being killed off, in s'pite of the fact that much of the shooting was done only on Crown and untenanted lands. There are quite a number of station owners who will not allow shooters on their land. The writer was recently asked £1 for each member of the party as well as guide fees in advance for the privilege to shoot deer on a wellknown station near Taupo. Also,' the Galatea statiqn is, .1 believe, closed absolutely to stalkers, which is strange, seeing that it is reported to be infested with doer. 1 say again, leave tin' seasons open, let there be a market for skins, allow shooters to shoot over the land. Then the deer menace will cease to exist,—Yours, etc., “ STALKER. ”