THE "NATURAL ENEMY."

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3173, 26 April 1909, Page 7

THE "NATURAL ENEMY."

Deprived of an opportunity for testing the value of the Danysz virus as a means to the end of coping with the r sbbit pf'st, the pas toralists of New South Wales some time ago advocated the importation of stoats and weasels. It was claimed in support of the proposal that the introduction of these voracious little creatures in New Zealand had been attended with .excellent results. A strong protest was made by the Ornithologists' Union of Australia, which contended that the animals mentioned had been very destructive to birds in New Zealand. The Premier of New South Wales (Mr Wade! communicated with the Prime Minister of New Zealand on the matter, and duly received a roDly from Sir Joseph Ward. In this it was, stated that the weasels and stoats were introduced into New Zealand 25 years ago,, and that*they had now spread pretty well all over the Dominion. In some districts rabbits had practically disappeared, and very little .poisoning was required to keep them from becoming numerous again. Regarding the ; effect of the introduction of weasels and stoats on nativ« birds, it was stated in the letter "that to some j small extent they may interfere with them, but it is well known that native birds were fast disappearing before the arrival of the stoat and weasel.' 1 Although possibly Sir Joseph Ward is correct in his suggestion that the disappearance of native birds had set in the stoats and weasels became a power in the land, still it is Undoubtedly the ease that, so far as ground-nesting wild birds in New Zealand are concerned, the natural enemies of the. rabbit have long since sounded their death-knell In many places the weasels are actually climbing trees in order to loot nests of our nati ve birds, and the only question that presents itself is whether, from a natural history point of view, we are not paying to high a price for the destruction of rabbits by stoats and weasels. Very wisely, before coming to any decision on the matter, the New South Wales Minister of Customs intends to communicate with the Australian Ornithologists Union, which has promised to give some important information on the fauna aspect of the'problem.