PROTECTION OF LAMBS.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1924, Page 9

PROTECTION OF LAMBS.

WILD PIG DEPREDATIONS. KING COUNTRY SOLUTION. In the ba'ckbtodks of the King Country t'he wild pig problem is very acute and every lambing season settlers suffer heavy losses from the depredations of these animals. A settler who has suffered particularly heavily in the past has hit upon a novel and <at the same time a most effective method of dealing with the trouble.

In a letter to the Te Kuiti Chamber ■of Commerce, he says: —“It is well known that pigs possess a particularly keen scent and a highly developed taste for strong smelling food. Herein lies the remedy. Kill an old horse or bullock and liang the carcase where the pigs are known to gather, but well out oft their reach. Let tihe “bait” remain in position and from time to time place a feed of phoephorized pollard and meat beneath it. ‘Strychnine should not be used as it will kill the pigs before they get to their bush lairs and the farm dogs will be poisoned through eating the carcases. Phosphorous acts more slowly and creates a raging thirst which drives the pigs back into the bush in search of water.” The writer adds that since he has used this method of poisoning he has not lost a lamb through pigs and has ■no sign of the pests about the farm.