I will be the first to agree that DOC can be both ignorant and arrogant in their actions. 1080 poisoning is a classic example. However the call to maintain a population of goats on Arapawa island is at least as ignorant and arrogant no matter how rare they may be. by all means relocate them to their natural environment and try to bring them back from the brink of extinction, but don't expect sympathy for their removal from their current location.
If indeed the only threatend species is a snail, it is because every other threatend species has already been wiped out and has no way of being successfully re-introduced until the goats are removed. Putting your example of how well your own goats have tidied an area in the UK shows just how little you understand the New Zealand ecosystem. Before humans arrived here, the only mammals where seals and bats. The entire country was covered in bush and full of birdsong. Much of the East coast of the South Island was burnt off, partly in the hunting to extinction of the Moa, by Moari. Something like half of New Zealands forests and a number of bird species were destroyed before Europeans arrived. Since then in the past couple of hundred years at most, half of the remaing native forest has been destroyed including almost all of the virgin Kauri forests, not to mention many more bird species. What has caused the extinction and endangerment to so many native animals? two things. Predation from the likes of people, rats, stoats, ferrets, pigs, cats, dogs and diseases, all of which have been introduced (mostly from the nothern hemisphere). and the second destructive force is loss of habitat, which has been caused by humans, possums, goats and deer etc. To understand the destructive force of grazing animals to the New Zealand forests you need to see what they look like in there natural state (which not even most New Zealanders have seen) to fully appreciate the damage done. Given the combination of landmass size and human population size in both the North and South Islands, the only feasible places to try and recover the endagered flora and fauna of New Zealand and for New Zealand, before they too become extinct is on Islands which can have introduced predators and grazing animals removed. The more islands we can use for this purpose the better the chances are of reducing further extinctions here. And the bigger the islands we can do this on the better we can maintain the genetic diversity which is crucial to the long term survival of any species. This is my final reply to this topic, as my reason for joining this group was to learn about the UK canal system. A subject to which I am almost totally ignorant of. Stuart. --- In [email protected], "Christine Ball" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Not quite what I had in mind, but if it's goat meat you're interested > in watch *Kill it, Cook it, Eat it* starting 10.30pm tomorrow Jan 7th:- > http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/programmes/kill_it/ > > Friends of mine were in the audience for the second programme and > breed meat kids as well as milking a herd of 1500 at Ripon. Goat meat > has less fat than chicken and demand is growing. There will be a big > display of Commercial Goats (milk/meat/fibre) at the '08 Sept Dairy > Event at Stoneleigh including meat goats and samples to try. > Oh yes and thanks to worldwide support DOC(NZ) have postponed the cull > of Arapawa goats(genetically and historically far too unique to > eat)until Mch. DOC is ignorant and arrogant and has no proof of > environmental damage caused by these goats on Arapawa Island. A census > will now be done and long-term plans for their survival put into > action. You can still add your name to the petition which is up to 760:- > http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/arapawa-goats > My own goats (Golden Guernseys) did a very good job of tidying up the > towpaths between 1982 - 1990 when we lived onboard and travelled > around the system. Mostly on our Hingley's Joey nb*Gerald* (Keith > built them their own forecabin) and briefly on butty *Heron* and > Josher *Lupin* before her deconversion at Stretton. > > Cheers, > Christine. > > > > Christine wrote " ...attempt to stop DOC (NZ) shooting these direct > > descendants of our Old English goats (now extinct). " > > > > Megapixie says If they are descendants of Old English goats, send > them back > > as she has a wonderful recipe for Curry Goat and has experienced great > > difficulties obtaining the principle ingredient! > > > > BTW, although Christine stated later that " This small group of > feral goats > > are NOT destroying the environment they have lived in for the last > 200yrs or > > more. They pose no threat to any native fauna or flora.", there must > be a > > valid reason why DOC (NZ) who are carrying out the cull feel the > need to do > > so. > > > > Graham > > www.jannock.org.uk > > >
