POACHING RAMPANT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23884, 11 August 1939, Page 11

POACHING RAMPANT

PIGEONS AND TUIS t PUKETI STATE FOREST One of the sad results of the decision of the State Forest Service to cut out a number of big, healthy kauri trees in the Puketi State forest in the Northland is that the new access roads for getting out the timber have given facilities for poaching native birds. A reliable correspondent has sent the following letter to' the Forest and Bird Protection Society:—“ I met a worker who has been on the. road construction in this qrea, and he informed me that pigdon-shooting goes on regularly in this area. Now that access roads are being made, the birds will suffer. It is not the actual workers that are the offenders, as they are under supervision, but outsiders. Both Maoris and Europeans make excursions into the forest and shoot tuis and pigeons. It should not be a hard matter to trap some of these poachers. Week-ends are the times when most of the shooting goes on. At that time the road men are nearly all away at their homes, and these poachers take the opportunity to slip in. Guns should be absolutely prohibited in State forests. As this forest gets more opened up, thousands of pigeons and tuis will- be shot this winter.” A copy of this letter has been sent by the society to the Minister of Internal Affairs. Complaints of pigeonpoaching continue to come from various parts, especially from North Auckland. Nelson and the West Coast dis'tbicts.