EDITORIAL A National Policy at Stake

Forest and Bird, Issue 125, 1 August 1957, Page 2

EDITORIAL A National Policy at Stake

The urge to hunt and kill is as old as man himself, it is inherent in the human being, it is understandable, and in certain circumstances perhaps justifiable, but when the deerstalkers ask, as they do, in the leading article in their annual publication “Roar” for this year, that they be allowed to maintain a permanent population of deer in order to satisfy this urge to hunt and kill at the expense of flora which has no parallel anywhere in the world, we must reluctantly, but most firmly, oppose them in this declared objective. The New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association includes in its membership many wellknown and respected sportsmen, and many of its members are also members of our Society. As would be expected of men whose pastime takes them into the mountains and the bush, they express a high regard for our forests and birds. We do not doubt the sincerity of their expressions. The deerstalkers demand the right to express their point of view, and we would not deny them this right. Indeed we understand and sympathise with them in their views, even while in the interests of the country generally — of posterity, we must oppose them. We submit that a priceless heritage of forest and bird is of more importance to New Zealand than is the presence of herds of animals kept exclusively for sport which means inexorably—inevitably end of that heritage of forest and bird as God made it. With the knowledge we have today, if there were no deer in New Zealand no sane person would countenance their being liberated here, but unfortunately they are here and they will not be easy to remove. We would welcome the Deerstalkers’ Association as a body which could render a great national service if their declared objective was to hunt and exterminate these noxious pests from our forests and mountain ranges, and noxious pests are what deer are. In their leading article the Deerstalkers ask to whom and to what are Moose, Wapiti, Sambur, Virginian, fallow rusa, and other deer, noxious. There are many reasons why they are noxious, but the principal one is that they have been introduced to graze and browse in forests and on mountainous herbage evolved through countless centuries in the complete absence of animals. This vegetative cover is of a particularly succulent nature, quite the best possible insurance against erosion, but unfortunately completely vulnerable to the presence of animals —and what animals. If one aspect of deer is more remarkable than others it is that they are always chewing - chewing - chewing. They never stop, and what the hordes of these pests chew without ceasing is that unique and beautiful vegetation so loved by New Zealanders and so vital to the country’s, welfare. The leading article asks in particular why are the few Moose in a remote corner of misty, raindrenched and almost inaccessible Fiordland noxious, and why are the Wapiti on their rocky ramparts and in the dense rain forests and moss and lichen covered terrain noxious ? The questions supply their own answers. The animals are particularly noxious in those areas because they are inaccessible, because they are rain-drenched and moss and lichen covered. In such high rain-drenched slopes it is most important that there should be no interference with the protective vegetation. New Zealand is not like the lands where the animals come from in which most vegetation is deciduous ceases and rests in winter and large numbers of deer die of starvation. Also carnivorous animals serve to keep the deer in check. Here the deer browse in the forests and on the slopes all the year round, destroying natural regeneration, denuding and stripping the surface of the valuable water holding and

regulating moss, etc., and by disturbing the surface and creating tracks, which make water channels, with their sharp hooves, prepare the way for national calamity in the years ahead. A notable feature in other articles in the Deerstalkers’ annual publication is the number of deer seen by members on trips and left unharmed to go on chewing, chewing, chewing at our heritage .of plant life so valuable—not merely because of its economic value —as their leader infers —but also because of its priceless charm and interest. We cannot temporise with this problem. Without noxious pests in our forests, we can keep much of New Zealand as it was with all its natural beauty and glory. Perpetuation of deer means at the very best, a survival of a poor sickly remnant of our world famed subtropical and sub-antarctic forests, or an equally poor imitation of exotic forests, certainly a complete change in the character .of our forests and almost certainly widespread erosion and irrevocable harm to our cherished national parks. Surely the Deerstalkers will see that this price is too heavy for the country to pay. In the meantime the deer are there, the stalkers will be able to go on enjoying their sport until a satisfactory means of elimination is found, and the Deerstalkers’ Association will justify its existence if it will do all in its power (which is considerable) to remove this national menace from our land as quickly as possible. (Elsewhere in this issue are other articles bearing on this subject).