The devastation of native birds in New Zealand has been traced to the introduction of land predators--including stoats, weasels, ferrets, and rats--by the earliest human settlers. This richly illustrated book, written by a prominent New Zealand ecologist, surveys the thousand-year history of introduced predators, from the arrival of the Polynesians to the present, and considers the related question of whether to protect the remaining bird fauna through predator control. Written for the non-specialist, this book raises controversial points which will provoke much debate among conservations and ecologists, both professional and amateur.