Hunters slay 3,500 reindeer on island near Antarctica
Source: Agencies |
March 20, 2013, Wednesday
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HUNTERS have slaughtered 3,500 reindeer on a British island near Antarctica in a step to get rid of animals that were brought from Norway a century ago and are an increasing threat to native wildlife.
The reindeer on South Georgia were corralled into pens and slaughtered by a 16-strong team, mostly reindeer herders from Norway, officials said on Monday. Animals in remote areas were shot with rifles.
Up to 1,500 reindeer remain for a final cull in 2014.
"It will be an amazing change for the island" to have no reindeer, said Martin Collins, chief executive of the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
The reindeer, naturally at home in the Arctic at the other end of the globe, were brought to South Georgia from Norway by whalers in the early 20th century to be used as a source of food on the remote South Atlantic island.
The reindeer flourished from a few dozen and have increasingly trampled the nests of birds on the ground such as king penguins and the south Georgia pipit. They also cause soil erosion and eat local plants such as tussac grass.
"Several decades of over-grazing means that the reindeer are a severe threat to birds that are only found on this island," said Reidar Andersen, head of the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate which oversaw the hunters.
South Georgia is also working to kill off rats and mice, which have spread across the island after arriving as stowaways on ships.
The unwanted animals are part of a worldwide problem of invasive species - animals or plants that take over new habitats.
The reindeer on South Georgia were corralled into pens and slaughtered by a 16-strong team, mostly reindeer herders from Norway, officials said on Monday. Animals in remote areas were shot with rifles.
Up to 1,500 reindeer remain for a final cull in 2014.
"It will be an amazing change for the island" to have no reindeer, said Martin Collins, chief executive of the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
The reindeer, naturally at home in the Arctic at the other end of the globe, were brought to South Georgia from Norway by whalers in the early 20th century to be used as a source of food on the remote South Atlantic island.
The reindeer flourished from a few dozen and have increasingly trampled the nests of birds on the ground such as king penguins and the south Georgia pipit. They also cause soil erosion and eat local plants such as tussac grass.
"Several decades of over-grazing means that the reindeer are a severe threat to birds that are only found on this island," said Reidar Andersen, head of the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate which oversaw the hunters.
South Georgia is also working to kill off rats and mice, which have spread across the island after arriving as stowaways on ships.
The unwanted animals are part of a worldwide problem of invasive species - animals or plants that take over new habitats.
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