TRUST FUNDS.

Forest and Bird, Issue 29, 1 April 1933, Page 13

TRUST FUNDS.

Much misconception as to the means at the disposal of the N.Z. Native Bird Protection Society appears to exist amongst kindred organisations and others. Some of the requests made to this Society for funds certainly border on the absurd. In one case we were asked to purchase a large tract of land and cede this to a leading City Council. Acclimatisation Societies at times twit the Bird Society because we do no ranging, and at the same time expect us to finance the whole cost of a bounty on German Owls originally introduced at the request of Acclimatisation Societies. The facts concerning these matters are that our trust funds w r ere set aside for certain purposes some time since agreed upon in conjunction with the Minister of Internal Affairs. We desired that ranging should be included in our activities, the expenses of which should be met from the trust funds, but the Department was not agreeable to this. The total gross revenue of the Bird Society is not one-twentieth part of the amount gathered in by Acclimatisation Societies, who receive their funds for the purposes of wild life control. These receipts include license fees for fish, deer, imported game and native bird shooting, and for fines imposed for breaches of the Animals Protection and Game Act, 1921-2, etc., etc. Much revenue from opossums has also been granted in the past. The Bird Protection Society, on the other hand, is supported by the results of its own efforts and by subscriptions tendered from all parts of the land by those who desire to save a remnant at least of our essential and wonderful forest and bird life. In

the early years of the Society’s career a grant of £SO per annum was received from the Government, but otherwise the small revenue at our disposal has been subscribed by the public to advocate native bird and forest protection. We spend no money on paid secretaries; all our helpers freely give their time and money to the cause. Surely then it is not cricket to say that the Bird Protection people do no ranging. As a matter of fact, the very few paid rangers operating under the Animals Protection and Game Act, 1921-2, do not give their whole time to the work, in as much of their time goes in fish and game distribution and various other activities. The work required in checking the present wholesale poaching throughout the land far exceeds the capacity of the nine or ten rangers employed under Acclimatisation Societies, and the Bird Society only wishes that funds were allocated to it to help in this extremely necessary work. Many of our members do honorary ranging, and the Society invariably passes on all reliable information received to the controlling Government Department, and in this manner substantial fines have at times accrued to Acclimatisation Societies.