SNARING WILD BIRDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 December 1933, Page 5

SNARING WILD BIRDS

MERCHANT WITH DECOY LINNETS

Charles Holley, 43, timber merchant, Sumner-road, Peckham, was fined £5 recently for confining seven linnets in cages which were too small to allow the birds to stretch their wings. He was also fined £1 for using nets to catch protected wild birds, and £3 for asaulting a police constable.

Linnets in six small cages and a dead bird were exhibited in court. P.-c. Carver said that he watched llollc-.v extracting a number of wild birds from nets at Chelsllold. fie appeared to be very brutal in his methods of handling the birds, because feathers were Hying’ in all directions, he had seven linnets in seven small cag*es. These were decoy birds. There were between twenty and thirty newly-caught birds in a box. These birds were in a state o£ frenzy. When witness picked up the box he

was struck and kicked by Holley, who tore tho sides of the box out and the birds flew away.

It was stated that the seven decoy birds were put in proper cages at the police-station, but one died during the night. Holley said that ho was merely trying to catch two greenfinches to show at tho Crystal Palace. The chairmair (Mr. C. J. Parker) ordered the six birds to be liberated on land containing plenty of thistles and docks.

Inspector Hayward said that men ■ ike Holley often caught as many as toil birds, which they sold in the Caledonian Marekt on Sunday mornings.