Society Again Seeking Earlier Game Season

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30827, 12 August 1965, Page 14

Society Again Seeking Earlier Game Season

An earlier game-shooting season would again be requested in a remit submitted to the South Island Council of Acclimatisation Societies, the game committee of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society said in a report presented to a meeting of the society’s council last evening The remit was that the duck-shooting season open on the morning of the third Saturday in April and close on the evening of the first Monday in June, or alternatively open on the first Saturday in May and close on the third Monday in June.

The report said the remit was sent to the South Island council last year. Representatives from the North Canterbury society had attended a meeting in Ashburton with the Ashburton and South Canterbury societies. An earlier game season was discussed, and representatives of the other societies were in favour of an earlier opening of the game-shooting season, the report said.

The report of the fish committee said the committee had decided it did not favour the indiscriminate shooting of stags for bounties, but preferred that stag destruction be under the control of individual acclimatisation societies. The committee had discussed the matter at a meeting called by the Ashburton society and held in Ashburton.

The game, committee's report said the committee had been told an aerial survey of Lake Ellesmere would enable a full picture to be obtained of the black swan population and its nesting activities. The committee recommended that expenditure be authorised for monthly aerial surveys of Ellesmere during the nesting season. It had been decided that 20,000 swan eggs would be left on the recognised swan nesting area in the coming season.

Last year about £7OO was realised from the sale of swan eggs, and this season the figure was about £3OO, Mr G. Mugford said.

The reports were adopted by the council.