Dear Sir,

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 79, 12 September 1947, Page 4

Dear Sir,

Letters to the Editor must be clearly written on one side o£ the papefr only and where a nom-de-plume is used the name of the writer must be included for reference purposes. The Editor reserves the right to abridge, amend or withhold any letter or letters. SHAG SHOOT Sir, —In your columns there is advertised a “shag shoot” to be held on the Raurima and Whale Islands. Probably many birds which will be destroyed have never seen a fresh water stream and subsist on the marine life to be found in the areas adjacent to the offshore breeding grounds. The destruction of shags in these localities at one time was not considered necessary but nowadays seems to have official sanction. Whale Island and the Raurima islets have a wealth of bird life, that is protected by law and in the case one almost extinct, form this protective law is more rigidly enforced than any similar measure elsewhere imposed for the protection of animal life.

In the proposed visit £o the islands a certain amount of disturbance must be inevitably occur to the various forms of bird life that there find sanctuary but the ideals of sportsmanship in the members of the shooting party should, if properly' exercised, insure that the interference shall be as little as possible. Yours etc., B. SLADDEN, Representative Forest and Bird Protection Society.