Page 11 Advertisements Column 3

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17189, 5 November 1923, Page 11

! A well-known settler at, Awakino, in j the King Country, commenting on re- | cent references to the wild pig menace, I says it is vastly under-rated. Tie de- ! scribes his own experience. “It mnv i seem like a fairv tale to some people.” he said, “hut I have had the sad experience of wild pigs at lambing time. ! I was farming at Awakino for a number of vears, and breeding from about 1000 ewes. Wild pigs usually del stroyed about half the lambs in spite ! of the fart that J hunted them frej queutlv during lambing time. One 1 season 1 employer] a man from a few 1 weeks before limbing until the end. I ! assisted him occasionally. In all, we i killed about 150 grown pig>'- includ- : ing manv large boars. 1 found t-hev • were coining out at dusk and on xnoon- ; light nights, Yvhich made it difficult to get them. I have known a pig watch a ewe until a lamb was- born, and immediately seize it. YY'ith a man j camped on the spot, hunting every dav. 1 lost 400 out of 800 lambs born. The ravages of the ke a in the South Island are trifling comparer! with that of the pigs in the North. Anvone ! unfortunate enough to have u holding ; adjoining a large tract of Crown or i Native bush lias a poor chance of get- ; ting a gooff percentage of lambs. If it I awful j->est the wild pigs are to the sheep farmer in the hack blocks the Government. I am sure. would do more to remedy the evil. The loss t-o sheep farmers in affected areas j must be thousands of pounds annually. YY’e cannot hope to exterminate them while we have large tracts of unoccupied Crown anff Native land, but, uc* doubt something could be done to minimise the wil. 1