HAWKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21807, 23 May 1934, Page 15

HAWKS

Sir, —I have been a keen sportsman for the last 30 years, and never before have I seen so many hawks and pukeko as at the beginning of this present season. I have nad to shoot hawks that were settling on my decoy ducks. If I had not done so, the decoy ducks would have been upside down. The hawk just swoops down, clutches the head of the decoy and vainly attempts to lift it, but the sinker prevents this. I have shot ducks on my pond and the report of the gun had hardly died out before a hawk would swoop down to devour it. Another instance, I had shot a hawk and wounded it, and in a few seconds thero were seven pukeko viciously attacking the wounded hawk. If the pukeko will do this to a bird of prey, what will it do to young ducks and pheasants? One old resident in the district where I was shooting, informed me that time and time again he had caught the pukeko killing his chickens. While waiting in a swamp one afternoon, at the beginning of the season, I counted no less than 74 liawks _ flying back after their day's destruction, if the Acclimatisation Societies could see their way clear to increase the price of hawks feet from 6d to 9d a pair, sportsmen, farmers and others would do all in their power to exterminate these birds of prey, and the societies would have no need to worry about shortage of game and closed seasons. Shooter.