DEER SHOOTING SEASON OPENED TOO LATE

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6889, 20 April 1929, Page 10

DEER SHOOTING SEASON OPENED TOO LATE

STALKER’S OPINION. MANGAHAO HERDS NEED COLLING. A well-known. Manawatu sportsman, who lias recently returned from a deerstalking expedition, into tho Mangahao area, told a reporter yesterday that, in his opinion, extensive culling was needed among the red deer herds of that district, in order to improve tho standard of the heads which he described as 1 * very poor. ’ ’ On his trip, ho had seen quite a number of stags but in only two cases, had the heads on these animals made them of any .value as trophies. . Ho also expressed the opinion tha: this year the stalking season, which commenced on March 28, had opened a fortnight too late, and that stalkers had therefore been deprived of the possibility of securing some good heads. ~ , __ The period during which stalkers secured heads was that in which the stags were “roaring” —their challenges to battle giving the stalkers a guide to their position. Tho “roaring” period had set in this year a good fortnight before March 28 and sportsmen had thus been at a disadvantage. Since the opening of the season, the stags’ challenges had only been heard at intermittent periods. . In explaining the lato opening of the season Mr. A. Andrews, Wellington Acclimitisation Society ranger told a reporter yesterday that the Wellington society always opened the deer-shooting season in the Manawatu as nearly as possible to Easter. Fully 75 per cent, of the license holders in and around Palmerston North were young men, who could not get away from their employments except during Easter. Ihe opening of tho season was’ therefore arranged to coincide as closely as possible with the holidays, in order to give these young sportsmen a chance.