Coming Shooting Season

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 77, 17 April 1937, Page 7

Coming Shooting Season

(To tbe Editor.) Sir, — Now that anotber shooting season is at hand, I have been requested by the executive of the Hawke's Bay Acclimatisation • Society to make an appeal to your readers for assistance and fair play in the matter of taking out shooting) licenses. It is, unfortunately, a facf that every year a number of people in the district shoot game without going through the formality of taking out a licence. In some cases, of course, they do so wilfully and deliberately, and to sucb persons it seems useless to make any sort of appeal. They know the law, and the penalty, and will probably continue to run the risk until the) are caught and fined, and their guns confiscated. There are, of course, many who refrain from taking out a licence under the mistaken impression that they are not required to do so if invited or permitted by an occupier of property to shoot over it.' This is not the case, and the society desires to gjive publicity to the fact that aMhough a person in occupation of property, and any one son or daughter, may shoot over his own Jand ouiy, wthout a licence, any other person shool.ujg cver the property must have a Jicenco to uo so An occupier of land not fishing to shoot over it in person may nominate in writiug some other person to shoot in his stead. Ni tihcatiou of tbis must be sent to the sooiety. in such a case, the nominated person is tln only one who may shoot cver the pioperty without a licence duriug the season. The occupier, should he subsequentiy decide to shoot, must take out a licence to do so. The society therefore appeals to all those who have shooting of any desen'i tion on their properties to see that every person wboin they give permissiuii Ui shoot or whom they invite has a licence to do so. Besides being, grossly i-nioif to other shootigts, this prao

tise of shooting without % licence is gravely injurious to the interests of all concerned. Many people take the presence of game for granted, without realising that the work of rearing tho birds and liberating them thorugihout the district is done by the Acclimatisation Society. Without this there would very soon be no game to shoot. This is a costly and difficult business, and as ,the society' s only source of income, apart from the subscriptions of those keen enthusiasts who are its members, is derived from the licence fees, it will readily be seen that each person who shoots without a licence means a corresponding loss of revenue to the society, and a consequent curtailment of the amount it can spend in the interests of sport. Furthermore, this appeal is- made to occupiers of property and to sportsmen generally, not only in their own interests, but for the sake of the risiag generation and those after them. I am sure those tfho have youngsters of their own would be terribly sqrry to see them grow up, keen as mustard on a day's fishing or shooting, only to find that the game is not in the country. Only your assistance and support can not come about.— Yours, etc., ensure tliat such a state of affairs does E. M. CHADWICK. Secretary H.B. Acclimatisation Society. Napier, April 15, 1937.