ANIMALS IN OUR FORESTS.

Forest and Bird, Issue 17, 1 April 1929, Page 10

ANIMALS IN OUR FORESTS.

By Captain E. V. Sanderson.

A greater menace to New Zealand than any German or Russian menace is that of the presence of plant-eating animals in our forests, because in the event of our being overcome by a human enemy we should in all probability be allowed to sustain ourselves, otherwise we could not work for our conquerors, whereas in the event of the loss of our forests we cannot sustain ourselves. Here in New Zealand we are faced with a forest problem unknown in any other country, for during countless ages no planteating animals roamed in our forests. A forest has therefore been evolved which cannot withstand the attacks of deer, goats, opossums, and the like. Yet such animals have been purposely liberated and even now their presence is connived at by the ‘Department which controls such matters and by others who are evidently prepared to sacrifice their country’s welfare for the sake of sport or in other cases personal pecuniary gain. Even in warrants just issued by the Internal Affairs Department restriction is put on the number of stags which may be shot, and a season is defined in which deer may be killed. Surely, then, we must consider our forests doomed.

Were our forests of no commercial gain or sesthetic value this would not greatly matter. But they represent vast present and potential wealth. First of all they supply us with the all-essential timber. Then they prevent that devastating rush of water which washes away the thin soil covering off those of our hills which are forest clad and in its course towards the sea scours away huge slices from our best land and covers other such good land with stony debris.

Further, forests conserve moisture, give it off during periods of dryness and regulate the water supply in rivers, thereby preventing such disasters as the recent Mississippi catastrophe and lesser calamities which already happen in this country from time to time, resulting in loss to the individual and thereby to the community. In short, the importance of our forests to our great farming community and our city dwellers cannot be overestimated. If, however, the ever-increasing number of planteating animals is permitted our priceless forests are doomed. Yet we permit these animals to be preserved in them for sport and other objects.

Now were it possible to replace these forests by replanting it would cost huge sums amounting to many millions of pounds and it would moreover be an exceedingly slow process. All this has

been told to us time and time again by experts in forestry and botany of world-wide repute; we look apathetically on while deer and the like do their fell work. Verily we are a peculiar people.

Apart altogether from their incalculable commercial value, our forests are or should be the proud heritage of every New Zealander because out of 283 kinds of trees and shrubs which go to form the whole, not more than 10 kinds are found wild in any other country. We are told that they are really tropical forests growing in a temperate region and on them depends the character of our world famous scenery, therefore if we destroy these inestimable forests or allow deer to do so then the hope of New Zealand becoming a great tourist resort is gone for ever. Gone too would be our delightful bird life. Yet the authorities permit deer and many other plant-eating animals to be preserved and fostered in our forests.

Nav. even the very Department which connives in the preservation of animals for sporting purposes in our forests spends large sums of money annually in an endeavour to attract tourists to see the forest scenery which, by the time visitors reach our shores in sufficient numbers to reimburse us the money spent, will have disappeared or at least be further greatly marred.

Let us look at the matter square in the face. On the one hand we have the Department of Internal Affairs heading the attempt to foster animals suitable for sport and at the same time the Forest Service is doing what little it can but very ineffectually, owing to lack of funds, to mitigate the menace. The revenue in part, however, fi'om our forests, which could be devoted to lessening the evil these trespassing animals do is taken from the Forest Service by the Department of Internal Affairs and handed in part to Acclimatisation Societies, which by the way already annually filch revenue from State Forests by way of issuing opossum trappers licenses to work in them and which also receive revenue from deer and foster them while the salaries to pay the officers in each Department thus working at cross purposes all come out of the public purse. The matter is nothing new but has been, going on for years. Surely the time is long overdue when common sense should be brought to bear on this matter and the warnings of forest and horticultural experts heeded.

“If it were not for birds no human being could live upon the earth, for the insects upon which birds live would destroy all vegetation.”— Michelet.