Retorts

Wild Animal Worries

I want to enquire about certain breeds of animals living on Enderby Island near the Auckland Islands. There are unique breeds of goats, cattle, rabbits and pigs. It seems that they were pests to the environment. The cattle have been exterminated to allow recovery of the natural habitat.

What I was wondering about was, if they have learned to adapt to the harsh climatic conditions, why weren't they given to farmers so the line could be kept going? They are livestock free of copper zinc injections, living on a land free of pesticides. Very few breeds of domestic stock are as hardy as these animals.

I'm sure they could have done something. I appreciate they couldn't send a ship and herd them in because it would have been too far, too expensive, too difficult.

Bruno Peters, Whangarei

The strain was saved as fertilised eggs and transported back to the mainland. Enderby Island cattle live on! See the Quick Dip on it in this issue.