FOREST PESTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24424, 9 October 1940, Page 6

FOREST PESTS

DESTRUCTION OF DEER EFFECT OF WAR WORK TO BE CONTINUED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter* WELLINGTON, Oct. 8. Although the sale of cheap ammunition to property holders and others for the destruction of deer and other forest pests is to-be discontinued, the work of the destruction of deer will be continued by the offleial fields officers of the Department of Internal Affairs. This statement was made in the House of Representatives to-day by the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E. Parry) in reply to a question by Mr T. D. Burnett (Opposition, Temuka). The Minister was asked whether he would use his endeavours to issue adequate supplies of .303 ammunition to high countrymen in order to destroy deer and chamois, as the Government hunters were likely to be dispersed owing to war needs. * In a note to his question, Mr Burnett said that a former Government, in the interests of the Tourist Department, imported chamois and thar from Europe, and they were rapidly becoming most potent factors in erosion; For a number of years the department had drawn on supplies of ammunition from the Army Department, said Mr Parry, and sold it at a cheap rate for the destruction of deer and forest pests. The Army Department had advised that, with a view to conserving every possible round of ammunition for national defence, the whole position had had to be reviewed. He was able, however, to give the House an assurance that the official work of destruction would not be discontinued.