|
Hi Martin,
Thank you for extracting the info on Spotted Doves.
I think I missed most of the discussion on the
species. What kind of problems do Spotted
Doves pose to the environment, other species and the economy i e possible
spread of poultry diseases by visiting poultry yards etc? Should we be
concerned about their increase?
The writing was on the wall with Indian Mynas (i e
what a pest they were in areas where they were abundant) when they were first
noted in Manuka but neither the local government nor COG were concerned about
them. If they were they didn't do anything about them.
When I started working in the Wildlife Research
unit ca 1984 one of my first tasks was to remove feral ducks (mallards and it's
various colour forms) and geese from the local lakes at the
instigation of COG because they were concerned that Mallards would
hybridise with the Black Ducks and the geese may go feral. Their removal was
quite successfull. In NZ there are hardly any pure Black Ducks left due to
hybridisation with the introduced Mallards and feral geese are
abundant.
If it turns out that there is good evidence that
Spotted Doves are a threat to native species and/or the economy then in my
humble opinion, COG should make it known to the local government and persue
the matter .
Cheers
Peter Ormay
| 