“ATRAVESTY ON SPORTSMANSHIP.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 164, 13 July 1931, Page 4

“ATRAVESTY ON SPORTSMANSHIP.”

LIVE BIRD SHOOTING DECLARED BARBAROUS. (Special to the “ Star.”) AUCKLAND, July 13. ' “ The shooting of live pigeons re- 1 leased from traps is a practice that is ( barbarous in the extreme,” declared a i prominent member of the Society for ] the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. < Public interest in the subject was aroused by the resignation of Dr F. D. : Pinfold from the presidency of the Hamilton Gun Club as a protest against the inclusion of live bird shooting on the programme of the New 1 Zealand Gun Club Association’s recent 1 annual tournament. In the opinion of the S.P.C.A., which says its view is shared by a large majority of the general public, the shooting of live birds from traps is a practice without a single redeeming feature. The use of live birds, it is contended, is absolutely unnecessary, as the clay dummies provide an* exacting test for the keenest eye. “ The most cruel thing about the practice is that birds, despite the overwhelming odds against them, are not always killed outright. Frequently they are only wounded, and if they are not hunted and put out of their agony are left to die of starvation,” said the ’ S.P.C.A. member.

Tame from Hand Feeding. The shooting of live birds from traps ’ has been made the subject of the leader in the latest issue of the S.P.C.A. ’ magazine, “ Animal Welfare,” which has the following to say on the sub- “ Above all, the jtractice is cowardly. ' The assassin stands within a circle, a definite known distance from the trap, 1 both barrels of his expensive gun j loaded with specially charged cart- ; ridges, and, as he squares his shoulders, gives the word to release the victim. To register a kill he must drop the bird within the circle, and he has two shots to do it with. The pigeon is [ tame and domesticated from hand feed- ■ ing, is dazed and bewildered from en- : forced confinement, and, as it flutters 1 into the air, it is treacherously shot to pieces. In some cases the bird makes : not the slightest attempt to fly, and • balls are rolled towards it to frighten it into the air. 1 “ According to report, on at least one occasion at Hamilton the gunman was so provoked at the bird’s obstinacy : that he shot it where it stood. Was ■ he afraid that it would come to him for a few crumbs? Imagine the excitement and eager anticipation of the onlookers as a bird, desperately wounded, flaps its mutilated body to--1 wards the boundary line. The cham- ; pionship may depend on whether or ; not its dying convulsions carry it ■ beyond the line. Should its last agonising flutter leave it dead within the ‘ circle, then the marksman receives the “ congratulations of his comrades. One 1 more heart beat of the victim and the * laurel wreath would have fallen on an--5 uther brow! [ “ What a travesty on British sports- - manship!