DEER HERDS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11030, 19 March 1914, Page 6

DEER HERDS.

STEPS TO PREVENT DETERIORATION. RAKAIA HERD TO BE CULLED. The task of culling the herds of deer iii'the dominion to prevent deterioration by inbreeding or any other means has been.faced .by the Acclimatisation Societies with promptitude. 1* 1 ,* 1 " 5 Wairarar/a the herds were carefully culled, stags with malformed heads and weedy animals falling before the rifle of men engaged to do the work. Quite vecently the Otago Acclimatisation Society entered into a contract for the thorough culling of its herds,, some seven hundred heads beirig" taken out. To-day the Canterbury Society's work in ■ this'direction ■ started. The- Deer Committee of the Society recently engaged H. L. Hodgkinson. of Hawea ?*lat, an expert in this kind of work, to cull the Eakaia herd, and to-day, accompanied by an assistant, A.. -Muir, also of Hawea Flat, he started out.to. do the work. ■ Two base camps will be established, ono at-Wamika Point, and one at ■Mount Algidus, .and the work should occupy about a month or five weeks. The men will report on the condition of the herd generally, and nlso on the number of rifles the countrv could carrv. Of course no licenses will be issued to stalkers this season. The Ashburton portion of the. deer country will be reported on by.two qualified members of the Ashburton Society, aud they will also do any culling required. •Should time permit, the men engaged by the local committee will proceed to the Poulter River and report on the herd there.