Destruction of Keas

Forest and Bird, Issue 91, 1 February 1949, Page 14

Destruction of Keas

Removal of Subsidy in the County of Westland

THIS Society has been successful in having the subsidy, or bounty, on the killing of Keas removed as far as the County of Westland is concerned.

The Society does not claim that the contention that keas kill sheep is incorrect; there appears to be no doubt that they do, though probably there are only one or two killers in each locality, which get away, leaving their innocent companions, who naturally settle on a juicy morsel, to bear the brunt. We must admit, reluctantly, that for the protection of farmers’ flocks it is necessary that they be kept down in certain areas; reluctantly, of course, because a native bird has to be slaughtered, not because the farmers’ flocks have to be protected.

But on enquiries being made from the Agricultural Department about 18 months ago, we were surprised to find that the County of Westland headed the list of counties in which subsidies had been paid by the Government for kea beaks during the year 1946-47, with £368, or, at 5/- a beak, 1,472 Keas, over 43% of all the subsidies paid throughout the South Island (there are no keas in the North Island). Not only that, but Westland provided over two and a half times as many subsidies as the next highest County on the list, Vincent, with £l4O. Now a glance at the map will show that the southern part of Westland is practically all alpine country, where no sheep could run, though north of Ross the mountains recede somewhat and leave more open country. Enquiries by the Society from the Westland County Council elicited the fact, as we had suspected, that the greatest number of beaks received were posted from the alpine districts to the south, where, of course, there are no sheep, or so few as to be negligible. The County Council informed us that parcels of

up to 60 beaks at one time had been received from deer stalking parties: in other words, the subsidy paid on these was just “blood money” paid for an unfortunate bird, which was doing no harm.

In view of this, a deputation from this Society waited on the Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. W. E. Parry, in February, 1948, and asked that the subsidy be removed in the County of Westland from Ross southwards. The Minister gave the deputation a sympathetic hearing, and protracted inter-Departmental negotiations were set on foot, the Westland County Council endorsing the Society’s proposal. In the meanwhile the official deer cullers of the Wildlife Division of the Internal Affairs Department were directed not to molest keas in the district, an instruction which we are sure they will agree was entirely reasonable.

The upshot was that the Minister for Agriculture, Hon. E. L. Cullen, who is the ultimate authority in this instance, approved of the recommendation that the 5/- subsidy on kea beaks should be discontinued in respect of keas destroyed after 30th November, 1948, not only from Ross southwards but in the whole County of Westland, which was actually more than the Society asked for. This showed that in the opinion of the authorities affected our request was a reasonable one, and the Society wishes to thank the Minister concerned, the Heads and Staffs of their Departments, also the Field Officers and others who investigated and reported, thus freeing from persecution a bird which in his own habitat is definitely useful in that among other things, as Dr. Falla observes, he carries the seeds of rockbinding plants up the screes and other loose surfaces, and in this particular habitat was doing no harm to anyone.