"UNFORTUNATE."

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 223, 20 September 1929, Page 7

"UNFORTUNATE."

SHOT A PHEASANT. j "UNDER THE JUDGE'S , WINDOW." YOUNG MAN FINED £5. ! "Unfortunately for this young man, he shot the pheasant practically under the window of Judge Ostler's home in Remuera," said Mr. F. L. G. West, who prosecuted J. Gould, on behalf of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, at the Police Court to-day, for shooting in the close season. His Honor, of course, is a well-known sportsman, in sympathy with the objects of the society. Gould, who was represented by Mr. Kealy, pleaded guilty to the charge. Mr. West said the offence committed was a serious one, for it took place in the city, at Remuera. "One can hardly imagine this young man setting out deliberately to shoot a hen pheasant ?n a place where these birds are a delight to many people," said Mr. West. "Sportsmen feel keenly about the matter. Even if the pheasants were destroying gardens defendant could have applied to the Acclimatisation Society, who would, if the case demanded, have destroyed the bird. In this case I must ask for the maximum penalty of £10."

Mr. Kealy said the case was not so black as Mr. West had made out. Pheasants had been a source of annoyance in the garden of the defendant's parents. "Early one morning," said counsel, "someone passed the remark, 'There goes the pheasant that is destroying the garden.' On the spur of the moment Gould got a gun and shot the bird. The offence was not in any way premeditated, and there was no concealment." Mr. Kealy thought that a light fine would meet the case.

Mr. F. K. Hunt imposed a fine of £5 and costs £2 12/.