NATURE—AND MAN

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 695, 22 November 1933, Page 7

NATURE—AND MAN

Leo

Fanning.)

LOWER CREATURES' RIGHTS HUMANITY'S RUTHLESS WiAR. PREDATORY MAN.

By

Trees standing still and black and str,aight against a saffron sky — - The croak of frogs from. swampy haunts; a morepork's lonely cry. These things I want to see and hear, •again, before I die. The pale soft gold of toi-toi, aswaying in the breeze — ■ The blue sky peepinig through a fringe of drooping red pine trees; And a pigeon fl ealing lazily in search of sanctuaries. I want to bask again upon the sandhills hy the sea — ^ And breathe the scent of lupins while a skylarlc sings to me. Oh, God, before I die, give me these gifts again from Thee! ; Nor,ah M. Simpson, in N.Z. Railways Magazine. Man, as- "lord of the fowl and the brute," continues to believe that the lower creatures have no rights' of their own to any place on earth. In his book, "The Low Veld, its Wild Life and its People," Lt.-Col. J. Ste-venson-Hamilton remarks: — "Man has sbown himself by far the most savage and relentless of all the predatory animals. He alone slays wantonly, or for reasons outside his own naitural requirements. . . The changes made by wounded or .frightened animals upon their human pursuers are usually the results of desperate terror and not of natural ferocity." That passage is quoted hy the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire in a leaflet headed: "Help Save the Vanishing Animals of the World." "Men of science," it is stated, "have called this period the 'Close of the Age of Mammals.' Travellers, zoologists, ' and photographers are reporting that wherever they go, in hot climates and 'n cold, in the north and south, on land and in the ocean, wild life is being destroyed at a far, far greater rate than it can be reproduced. By motor car, by aeroplane with wireless, hy "trade, by sportsmen, by poison, by guns, traps, by every conceivable device, earth's wild creatures are steadily and surely heing wiped out of existence." After mention of a number of birds iand animals that have been wiped out by man, the society says: — "Rare animals in Malaya, Congo, Tasmania, India, Zululand, Africa, Australia and South America are in danger now of total extermination. Even ocean mammals are threatened, including the giant seal, elephant seal, sea otter, sperm whale, rorqnual whale, and right whale. Help to make sancutaries for wild creatures while there is still time to save them." 1 New Zealanders know that their •country could have been included in 'that list, for some rare birds here are - in peril of extinetion. The end would , not be long delayed if certain collec1 tors could have their exterminatng ; way. i

Dead]y Pollutions. Even when man is not waging a deliberate campaign of destruction against feathered, furred 01* finned creatures, some of his industrial operations spread death far and wide. The pollution of rivers has gone on for many years in many countries, and now it is the turn of the sea to be sullied by oil. As far back ias 1925 •the Canadian Government's Department of Marine and Fisheries sent the f ollowing memorandum to harbour commissioners : — ^'Thousands of duek and other aquatic birds ,and millions of fish fry are destroyed annually from the effects of oil. . . The effect of even a small quantity of oil is to fllm large areas of water, which, on account of the appearance of calmness, attracts aquatic birds. When they have settled on the surfaee the oil has the effect of gumming their feathers. . . . . Also this oil-film is fatal to young fish, which naturally resort to the shallow water areas, where the oil-filmi cuts off their oxygen supply and destroys the microscopic food supply on which they live. It has been stated from scientific scourees that millions of newly-hatched fish fry are destroyed in this manner." During recent years this fatal oil nuisance has alarmingly inereased. The remedy lies in international action for the compulsory installation of oil-separators on ships. Salvation in Sanctuaries. It is recognised by thoughtful folk that more Sianctuaries are required for game-birds as well as other birds whose survival is important to the human race. For example, the Duck Stamp Bill, recently introduced in the U.S.A. Congress, is designed to prevent annihilation of waterfowl. "This Bill," comments a contributor to "American Game," "is backed by hunters, written by hunters, and hunters themselves are begging for the privilege to tax themselves so as to> get this money to provide adequately for the ducks — (all wildfowl for that matter, and any other resident wild life that cares to reside in the inviolate sanctuaries which are to be properly policed and administered for the sole benefit of wild life. "The bill is simple. It is oalculated to have the government sell duck be affixed to resident or non-resident stamps for one dollar the season, to hunting licenses, the stamp a contrihution to the fund to restore the wildfowl.- Only wildfowl hunters will be required to buy the stamp. It is estimated. that the duck stamps will j return approximately one million j dollars a year. At least 75 per cent. of these moneys will be used for adequate administration and sientic research for the henefit of wildfowl." Forests Sjafeguard Angling. Another reminder that angle^s be keenly interested in the safeiguarding and extension of river-protection forests is ,seen in a remark of Mr. E. Wiffin, secretary of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, pn the damage done by floods. "Severe floods in the rivers and streams," he said,

"carry away a great deal of the natural food of trout, food that is not readily replaced. Then if the floods come late in the scason they are likely to play havoc with any fry which may have been released." Wild Flower Posters. "It is stated in the "Nature Magazine" that a very successful contest for posters, telling the story of wildflower preservation, has been conducted this year by the American National Wild Flower Preservation Society. The posters were in several classes, depending on the school grade of the competitiors, with one class for adults. Here is a good hint for the directors of art schools ,and technical colleges. New Zealand's native flowers and birds offer good scope for this poster p-urpose. The books with illustrations in full colours, puhlish'ed recently by the Bird Protection Society, would provide suitable suhjects for bird-posters.