KIWI SAVED FROM TRAP!

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 242, 17 May 1988, Page 1

KIWI SAVED FROM TRAP!

A kiwi was saved from death in a gintrap near Raetihi last week. It was the second time this year that Waimarino conservation officer John Heaphy has rescued a brown kiwi from a gintrap. The young bird was found in a small block of bush in the upper Parapara area. It was caught by its toes in a trap set by a local person who did not have permission to trap the area, Luckily it suffered only flesh wounds and no broken bones. Mr Heaphy would not identify the trapper, but said he had given the person a stern talking to. Some of the 60-70 other birds that have come to Mr Heaphy in recent years have not fared so well. Many suffered serious injury and were unable to be saved. One of the lucky ones now resides in the Gtorohonga Kiwi House, minus a leg. The bird is

due to be fitted with an artificial limb in another 18 months. Feeding all those birds is a full time job for Mr Heaphy, who says it is a task to supply Kiwi with their staple diet of earthworms. An adult bird eats between 300400 grams of worms in a night of foraging. To this extent, he is keen to hear from anyone with a good supply of worms on hand. "It would make my job a lot easier," he said. The number of Kiwi left in New Zealand is dropping at an alarming rate, according to Mr Heaphy. Until a few years ago the kiwi was not considered to be in any great danger. Various human activities including possum trapping and clearing of bush, have caused an unnaturally high mortality in some areas, but until recently there was no suggestion that any of the Turn page 3

WAIMARINO FARMS IN TROUBLE

From page 7. sort," Mr Griffiths says. In some cases the financial problems originated before the current Government's policies impacted on farmers. Mr Griffiths, a member of the Waimarino District Council, claims "the nub of the problem is Government policy". He blames Finance Minister Roger Douglas for an "interest rate situation that is nothing short of obscene". It is impossible to sustain economic activity and farming productivity with interest rates above 14 per cent, he says, and therefore current account rates need to drop by half before farmers will start to recover. Most farmers are paying interest of 20 to 22 per cent. The current problems facing farmers are caused by disastrous returns and a situation where seasonal finance has become hard-core debt.

Mr Griffiths says the problems started three years ago and came to a head about 12 months ago. There would have been more foreclosures on seasonal finance then had not stock prices improved and grass growth flourished. Many lenders had already discounted their loans and while this did not help with debt servicing, the

overall situation 12 months ago improved to the point of enabling farmers to "hang on". Last year's "kind autumn" and increases meat and wool prices were a "real rescue". This year, however, a reverse situation exists. There is a semidrought, , feed is in short supply and prices have dropped.

"What's happening is that creditors are now faced with a situation where returns as so disastrous that seasonal finance is becoming hard-core debt," says Mr Griffiths. Federated Farmers had a good deal of sympathy for stock firms and banks. Anothej rural spokesman, Mr Doug Bennett, a long-stand-

ing county councillor who farms near Raetihi, says restructuring and the sale of small pieces of land are keeping some farmers afloat. The future looks even more bleak, he says. Bank of New Zealand Raetihi branch manager Mr John Chittendon says the rural sector is suffering a severe depression and the bank fully appreciates the gravity of it. But the bank's attitude toward customers in difficulty has not changed. "We're in a position where we're lending other people's money and we have to take steps to protect their investment."