PRESAVE LINK

"I visited family and friends in New Zealand and loved exploring the incredible country and in particular its unique wildlife. One story which really struck me was the battle to save native animals, especially flightless birds. Humans go to quite incredible lengths to try and protect these fascinating animals who are in grave danger."

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A major source of danger for these creatures are the introduced non-native animals such as rats, possums, hedgehogs and cats. The native animals were not equipped to deal with animals that predate on them, their chicks and their eggs. 

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"One of the many things that struck me about this sad problem is that there is now a movement to try to make the mainland of New Zealand predator free again. I remember seeing poison traps laid out for rats and hedgehogs. Weirdly hedgehogs were introduced to make the English settlers feel more at home and whilst they are vulnerable to extinction back in the UK they are thriving in New Zealand and there are actually more there now than in their original home. It's a real moral quandary and whilst I agree that every effort should be made to protect kiwi and kakapo it doesn't feel right to be poisoning and killing millions of mammals to do that. It strikes me as not having learned lessons about interfering with nature. The foolish decision to introduce non-native creatures was made a long time ago and it sometimes feels like we have learnt little and continue to make new mistakes."

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There are many great initiatives to protect and conserve native NZ animals in a less destructive way. Zealandia is an enormous walled preserve in Wellington that keeps predators away and allows the native birds the space to breed and recover. Whilst rats, hedgehogs and similar animals are viewed as vermin by some they have a right to exist too, it is not their fault that humans brought their ancestors here, maybe there is a way we can navigate this problem without resorting to killing even more animals. 

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The song features the lo-fi aesthetic which has been the hallmark of this album. Starting out on a 1960s rubber bridged guitar which was recorded at the same time as the lead vocal, the song has a cinematic feel with atmospheric Mellotron, harmonica and violin. The poignant lyrics are front and centre and the song ends with a hopeful plea that one day the war on the wild will end and humans will learn to live in harmony with nature.