SPORTSMEN MEET

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4802, 26 June 1939, Page 5

SPORTSMEN MEET

ACCLIMATISATION COUNCIL. CONFERENCE WITH CLUBS. CONSERVATION OF SHOOTING AND FISHING. , About a hundred sportsmen were present at the Borough Council Chambers on Saturday evening, when twelve members of the Auckland Acclimatisation Council met representatives of branches of the South Auckland district. At the gathering, which was presided over by Mr. F. E. McKenzie, there were present representatives from the Te Kuiti, Pio Pio, Otorohanga, Kawhia, Eden and West Coast, Hamilton and Huntly Clubs. Mr. McKenzie in the course of his remarks referred to it as one of the most successful country meetings yet held.

The secretary, Mr. C. Gordon, reported that shooting licenses taken out were about 400 fewer than last year, with the returns still to come in unlikely to make up the deficiency. The chairman commented that last year was a boom year for shooting licenses. Revenue from fishing licenses increased by £IBO on the previous season, a tremendous increase having occurred in the issue of day licenses, following on the reduction from 5s to 3s.

License holders criticised the shorter season, commencing on May 6 and ending on the usual date. The chairman said the Council's recommendation to . the Minister had been that the season be extended for a further six days at the closing. The meeting generally endorsed the commencing of the season on the first week-end in May, but the making of a commensurate extension at the end of the season.

An offer to experiment further, on a commercial basis, with the breeding of grey duck for liberation purposes, was received from Mr. Eustace, of Auckland. The chairman said that as yet it had not been possible to breed grey duck in the same way as pheasants, but he felt that as yet the issue had not been given a fair trial. After a general discussion the Council resolved to make arrangements with Mr. Eustace to give the project of' breeding grey duck a trial for a year.

A similar offer was received to rear from Canadian mallard stock. No action was taken, but the offer is to be referred to the Wellington and Otago Councils. The question of the continuation of the policy of liberating mallard duck provoked much discussion. The chief ranger, Mr. Dobson, reported unfavourably, stating that the birds were too tame, and were unable to fend for themselves. Mr. Lloyd Wilson, however, said that in the Manawatu

the liberated birds soon flew from habitations.

The old issue, whether the mallard crossed with the grey, cropped up when Mr. Hugh Cameron and other speakers reported having shot greys with golden breasts. On Mr. Nicholson's motion, the Council resolved that, in view of the facts that the matter had not been given a fair trial and that this bird was providing valuable sport in southern districts, the liberation of mallards be continued for a further year. Particular emphasis was laid by delegates on the necessity of checking the drift in the numbers of quail. The ranger, Mr. Dobson, said that his observations convinced him that the decrease in the number of these birds was not due to inbreeding, but to failure of the food supply following on the lessened number of newly-sown bush burns. This view was also held by Mr. Murray Pratt, but Messrs. Lloyd Wil-

son and H. Cameron felt that this ex-

planation was only partly satisfac- <. tory, not giving the reason why quail lived in steadily diminishing but extremely localised covies, while apparently exactly the same food supplies were available in nearby areas. Members of the Council took note of the long discussion on this subject, the chairman stating that the Council was concentrating at present onpheasant liberations —it might be found worth while to give some attention in the future to the breeding of quail. An endeavour would be made to gain further knowledge of the feeding habits of quail by checking on the contents of the crops of birds shot.

When the question of the number of pheasants to be liberated came up for discussion, Mr. Savage strongly pressed that sufficient money be set aside as a reserve. This project received the support of the meeting, and it was resolved that the Finance and Game Committees should meet in conjunction so that both matters could be considered together. An order for 3000 pheasants has already been placed, as compared with 4000 liberations last year.

Any suggestion that a close season should be held for grey duck, that the existing season for these birds be cut, that decoys be further limited, and that the limit bag be decreased, found no favour with the meeting. The general opinion was that over the past four or five years there had been no decrease in the number of grey duck. Only in drained areas had they diminished in numbers, but in many other places they had increased considerably.

The general opinion expressed was that the regulations framed last December in relation to grey duck had been wisely drawn up, and the Council should press for adherence to them.

The amount of bonus payable for vermin destruction throughout New Zealand by the Dominion Council was held to be insufficient. The sum of five shillings had been earmarked from licenses for this purpose, and speakers held that the whol.e of this amount should be devoted to vermin destruction, by the increasing of the bonuses payable on stoats and hawks.