FALSE FRIEND

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 6520, 16 September 1924, Page 6

FALSE FRIEND

“THE RAT THAT ATE THE MALT” One of the most probable causes of many of our wild bird life troubles is that the weasel in most localities destroyed the woodhen, the principal enemy of rats, which then increased abnormally and preyed upon our birds (writes Captain Sanderson in the Bulletin of the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society). This theory is strengthened when one sees how our birds will prosper on islands where the introduced enemies are practically non-existent. It is astounding how few people make accurate observers; many jump to definite conclusions from merely superficial observations, never thinking to look deeper. Thus in the earlier days some acclimatisation societies declared war on the weka as an enemy of the pheasant because it will destroy unprotected eggs. But it is now evident the small damage this bird did was overwhelmingly counteracted by its fondness for rats, which ate immeasurably more eggs Allan the kewa, but now in most districts where the weka> is exterminated the pheasants and game have almost entirely disappeared. Then, again, we may take the weasel in relation to the rabbit question. The weasel in this instance appears to use the rabbit merely as a standby when birds are unprocurable, and the result is that an inordinate number of weasels are enabled to winter with little or no appreciable effort on the dimunition of the number of rabbits. The weasel is the easy-going farmer’s unreal friend, causing him vainly to hope that he will, without expense, be able to satisfy the requirements of the rabbit inspector. Any farmer who knows the harm rabbits do to pasture will not be satisfied by merely holding the pest in check with poison, but will follow the usual spasmodic effort up with patch poisoning and other means of extermination. The last few rabbits will be costly per head certainly, but their death will eventually prove a great saving. The rat has now, with the great decrease in vvekas, abnormally increased, and the damage done by this rodent probably outweighs any damage done by the rabbit. The rat’s life is one of destruction from the time production of food is commenced to the last moment before it is consumed; and he adds to this a welllmerited reputation as a disease carrier.

Undoubtedly the farmer who encourages weasels is merely making a rod for his own back; and if he were as well informed as to the value of most birds in eliminating insect pests as his Aiperican cousins are, he would be encouraging most birds to come around instead of fostering their enemies. He sees some birds eat his grain, but rarely realises most birds do infinitely less damage than the insects which they have killed would have done. He might just at wisely kill his human employee for requiring food, even though no wages are asked. Surely a good worker is worthy of his hire. Much careful observation is carried out in these matters by the Agricultural Departments in other countries, but here our own Department appears to lag, and even encourages the protection of weasels. Maybe this is done more under the political whip than from desire. The New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society welcomes all observations on the destruction of vermin in relation to our native birds, but let it be remembered cats kill rats, weasels kill rats, hawks kill rats and weasels, but that ground vermin invariably prefers birds. . *