A MOREPORK'S FEATS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 138, 12 June 1936, Page 9

A MOREPORK'S FEATS.

OWNER IN POLICE COURT. A morepork owner, W. Bish, was prosecuted in the Police Court, on summons, by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, to-day, on a charge of being found in possession of a protected animal —a morepork, at Henderson, on April 12. Defendant pleaded guilty. Mr. Jenkins, prosecuting for the society, said Bish had kept the morepork in captivity for a year. The society would, admit that Bish had taken great care of it, while the society was also glad to accept his explanation that it had been caught when quite young. "I'm a bird lover," said Bish, "and I have a lot of birds. The morepork used to come up to my cages and kill the birds. I at first thought it was a cat that was killing the birds, so I watched. Seeing the morepork, I threw a sack over it and caught it." Mr. McKean: You seem to have taken good care of him?— Yes, we have made quite a pet of him. Mr. Jenkins: They call the morepork "George Walker." (Laughter.) Bish told the magistrate that he used to catch mice and put them in the morepork's cage. "He would wring their necks and then throw them over his head," he added. (Laughter.) ' Mr. McKean: Some sort of a backloop slam, eh." (Laughter.) "That's right," replied the defendant. The magistrate said the case was not one for the imposition of a fine. Defendant was ordered to pay costs, which amounted to fl 11/.