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Grey River Argus, 18 April 1929, Page 3

No less a sum than £7259 has beet*, paid by lhe Government since 1919 for the killing of keas. At 5s per head this shows that upwards of 29.000 keas have bei n slain since 1919. The justifies- ion for the ex penditure of this fairly large sum of money is, of course, that the kea Is a very wicked bird—he is, so it is alleged, a sheepk’.llt r. But Mr E. E. Muir, of the editorial staff of the “Port.” having made inquiries among a number of those qualified to speak, is compelled t 0 ask: Has the cas« against the kea cv< ry r< ally been roved ? It is true, he says, that most of our museums show keas “caught n the act” of killing lambs, patheticbut wholly manufactured, sights ’hat have given the kea among New Zea landers the bad name he po'sesse-. Such exhibits, however, a e man’s own creations, and would not ’>e accepted In any court ef lav., even against th • vilest malefactor, the sentence f<<r whose crime, if proved is dea .11. But the kea —Is he guilty or not guilty? .It is a remarkable fac that the several authorities the wiiter consult’d, some of whom have spent a lifetime in the Southern Alps. urn niniously declare that there is no ingle case vet proved conclusively aga nst th x kea.