Hunting lobby wants moose protected

Hunting lobbyists say DNA confirmation of the existence in Fiordland National Park of hairs from a moose means the species should be given special protection.

This is despite there having been no confirmed sighting of one in New Zealand since 1952.

The New Zealand Conservation Authority and the Government would be petitioned to make moose exempt from extermination provisions in the National Parks Act, said Game and Forest Foundation executive director Garry Ottmann.

The act requires that all introduced species shall be exterminated, but the foundation is pinning its hopes on the Conservation Authority, which has the power to make exemptions.

If possible, the foundation wants the species protected in law.

The hunting groups which comprise the foundation have previously fought the Department of Conservation over efforts to rid Fiordland National Park of rocky mountain elk - also known as wapiti - and the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park of Himalyan tahr - both of which are highly regarded by trophy hunters.

But normally the foundation focuses on these animals and chamois, red, sika, fallow, rusa, sambar and white-tailed deer, and feral pigs.

Ten Canadian moose were introduced to Dusky Sound 88 years ago, but were apparently hunted to extinction more than 50 years ago.

South Otago scientist and helicopter pilot Ken Tustin staged a public screening in 1998 of a film he said contained time-lapse footage of a moose. The shape, colour and gait of the animal photographed were typically moose and could not be red deer, the only similar animal in the area, he said.

Since then Mr Tustin has produced two batches of hair from remote parts of Fiordland which have been identified with DNA testing as coming from moose.

Mr Tustin - who also has a few dozen samples of suspected moose faeces that he plans to have tested - has said he hopes confirmation of the species' survival might trigger a debate about whether an animal that had survived in such an inhospitable environment should be protected.

Mr Ottmann said Fiordland had a rich history of game animals, and the population of moose added to the diversity, mystique and the uniqueness of the region.

- NZPA