KILLING A SEAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13049, 14 December 1905, Page 6

KILLING A SEAL.

TWO MEM" FINED £25 EACH. [BT riSV7'.';UAP!I.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] ''. Dunedin, Wednesday. A surprising amount of ignorance prevails in respect' to the law protecting seals, and many people do not aeem to be aware of the seriousness of the offence they commit in slaying. the harmless and , interesting seal. At any rate, two men named Geo. Francis Movie'and James Potter Thorn, were educated on the subject in the Police Court here this morning, and the lesson was a salutary one. They were charged with killing a seal at Waitati Bay, on November 11, and pleaded guilty. " Mr. Chamberlain, Collector of Customs, saiid the facts of the ease were very simpl; The two accused were in a boat at Wait at . Bay, when they saw a seal, and at on-. shot it withe waiting to consider the .'onsequence:.', or whether the,seal would be of any use .to them when they had killed it. They had admitted their wrong-doing, and asked for leniency. The Department had no desire to be vindictive, or to press for any heavy fines, but it should be widely known that' seals are protected throughout New Zealand, and -must not be molested. The coast of Southern New Zealand once teemed with seals. There were thousands of thorn, and they might have become a sought of enormous wealth, but they were relentlessly killed or driven away, and now, after the Government had carefully protected them for many years, hoping they might gradually return to their old 1 haunts, no sooner did a steal show. his nose in these waters than some weak-minded person, probably mistaking himself for a sportsman, got a> gun and killed it. After quoting the different sections of the Aot showing that the maximum penalty for the offence was £500, and the minimum £25, Mr. Chamberlain said he did not ask for a heavy penalty, but merely for a sufficient fine to make other people hesitate before committing ai similar offence. In defence, the accused said that when thay saw the seal they thought it was a porpoise, and at once shot at it. Mr. Widdowson, S.M., said that under the circumstances the lowest penalty would be inflicted, a line of £25 each, with 10s expenses ealch, and the defendants would be allowed oae month to pay the fines. Mr. Chamberlain said he would make representations to the Department to reduce the fine. .... •