WAR ON ANIMAL PESTS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 99, 21 January 1943, Page 4

WAR ON ANIMAL PESTS

Destruction By Military Parties DEPARTMENT’S CAMPAIGN The satisfactory results of the work of the bush and mountain warfare trainees of the Army in the destruction of deer, goats and other animal pests in native bush and on high forest-clad ranges was referred to last night by the Alinister of Internal Affairs, Air. Parry, as illustrating a notable example of what could be done by men of the Army trained along the lines of the regular official deer killers of the Internal Affairs Department. It was no visionary or unpractical proposal., the Alinister said, that he had conveyed in 1939 to the then Prime Alinister, the late Air. Savage, for the swearing in as a special defence unit of the field officers of the department he administered. With a sprinkling of field officers now in the Army, servicemen specially chosen for mountain and bush work had helped, in their recent expeditions reported in "The Dominion,” to prevent from increasing, in certain areas at least, the large number of deer, wild goats and pigs at present in the country. The work, moreover, as Army authorities had said, had provided a valuable training in jungle fighting which all along wits uppermost in his mind, Air. Parry said, when he had advocated the establishment of a special unit of deer killers whoSe extensive experience in dense bush and precipitous mountain country of New Zealand made them so well fitted for active Army service in it. Loss of Men to Army. “The Internal Affairs Department,” the Alinister said, "has lost to the Army some very good and highly-skilled men who for long have been hunting down to their credit deer and other pests which do so much destruction to native bush and pastures. This migration of the men to the Army was to be expected. But, fortunately, some of their duties under the mountain warfare training scheme include deer destruction. The director of the department’s scheme, Captain G. E. Yerex, and six of the field officers, are now with the Army operating with the mountain warfare scheme. And so the supervising staff of the Internal Affairs Department lor a campaign against deer has been reduced to Air. B, A. V. Vercoe, acting director, and three field officers. . "As it was evident the Internal Affairs Department could not conduct a full Do-minion-wide deer campaign this season, it was decided, as the result of discussions with the Army authorities, it should confine its operations as far as the North Island was concerned to the Waikare-moana-Urewera region, leaving the rest of the North Island to be dealt with by Army mountain warfare parties. Several of the internal Affairs officers, familiar with the North Island deer-infested country, are attached in a military capacity to the mountain warfare parties and their knowledge and experience will be invaluable to the Army. In the South Island.

"In the South Island it has been agreed that, generally, the Internal Affairs Department will operate under its usual party scheme in areas south of the Hurunui River and, of course, on Stewart Island. A suitable area for training for mountain warfare parties in Southland has been handed over to the Army. Io meet some of the requirements ot personnel for departmental parties, approval has been obtained to the release of up to 40 men not required for overseas service. Air. Vercoe is at present in the South Island contacting some of the parties and arranging for the placing of men, etc. About 30 men from defence camps are either working on, or are in process of reporting to, the back-country for deer de* struction work, and, with a few regular shooters offering, it is hoped to build up the parties to about 50 men for the remainder of the season.” The Alinister said that before the outbreak of war the Internal Affairs Department had increased its deer-killing organization to the extent of employing up to 120 men a season (generally from November to” May), and, in some localities where conditions were suitable, winter operations were carried on. The work had reached the stage where a field officer was permanently stationed in certain areas and carried on operations throughout the year, taking on additional men at the most suitable times. Those areas were the Waikaremoana-Urewera, lararuas Fiordland, National 1 ark (Southland), and Stewart Island Since 1935-36 to 1941-42, held- officers of the Internal Affairs Department had destroyed the following number of deer, goats and pigs:—Red and other deer, 191,870: chamois, 5699; thar, 4063, goats. 39,696; pigs, 1858; a total ot 243,186 animals.