Destruction of Vermin.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 225, 24 September 1942, Page 1

Destruction of Vermin.

The supply of ammunition for the destruction of vermin was requested by a deputation from the Whangarei Acclimatisation Society, which waited on the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr. Parry), states a Whangarei correspondent. AH societies were practically in the same position, the Minister stated. The Department had been inundated with letters from farmers asking for ammunition to destroy pests, but it had not been possible to supply it. He would do what he could. The deputation asked the Minister for permission to shoot wild goats infesting the Pukenui State Forest, near Whangarei. Estimated to number between 700 and 1000, the goats were doing damage to the borough reserve. The Minister said he would see what could be done to assist the society. The growth of the rabbit pest and the uselessness of stoats as a means of control were illustrated by the Minister. He said exports of rabhitskins had increased from 6.170,000 in 1931 to 16,928,000 in 1936. There had been a decrease to 11,190,000 in 1939-40. largely the result of the war. Stoats, he considered, abounded only where there was wild bird life.