TRAP PIGEON SHOOTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 212, 7 September 1922, Page 13

TRAP PIGEON SHOOTING.

A PROHIBITIVE MEASURE. (Bj Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON", Wednesday. The Animals Protection and fiame I Amendment Bill, the main clause of I which is prohibition of the shooting ol live pigeons from traps, was put through its final stages in the Legislative Council this afternoon, though not without some I opposition. I Dr. Collins moved. -That it he read.) this day six months," as he considered it the thin edge of the wedge of an effort to atop all field shooting. This sport, h" gaid. was not in any way comparable tn eookfightiug or bullbaiting: it was sport which was carried on under certain roles, which he belreved had been fjamed by prominent and reliabl" men. and there ■was very little cruelty in the sport. At a large number of meetings clay pigeons i were n=od, and only on certain occasions; did tlie most expert pilots in the Dominion take p.'.rt. It was for the pur, pose of keeping the sport going that birds were used. There was no more cruelty in shooting a pigeo.i which was ea=t out of a trap than tli. j re was 'ii «ho-)t'ng a sitting rabbit or virion: other live things. He had taken t'Mllble to find out something about some of tV men connected with the spo.:. :>ud ha 1 discovered they in.-luded proiri.i.Mit bus' Bess and professional men. The ITon. (J. V. Thomson said I hat he made comments which had gi v en offence to a number of gentlemen who were connected with this sport, but he had done so in very good faith. His in f ormation had come from a very reliable s.o'i-ce and ii? lind ntcn assured that it was ifiil corr.j_.-t *s rejarded a certain portion of tio country. His information had come from Canterbury. He realised that the remarks he had made caused some gentlemen who -were connected with the •port a great deal of offence and pain, and he wished to take this opportunity of apologising to them. However, Ihis did not alter his view as to whether the pastime was sport or not. He did not think it was. He quoted an Australian authority as advising the use of clay birds instead of live pigeons. The council divided on the questionand the motion to shelve the bill was defeated by 1" votes to four. The four ■were the Hons. Carroll, Collins, Fraser, and Hawke. The bill was then passed and reported to the House of Representatives, where it will no doubt receive a controversial hearing. having been rejected there last session.