PROTECTIVE MEASURES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26641, 11 December 1947, Page 8

PROTECTIVE MEASURES

CROSSBRED DUCKS ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY’S APPROVAL By an amendment to the Animals’ Protection and Game Act, 1921-22, which has been gazetted, all mallard crossbred ducks are brought under the protected list of the second schedule of the Act, and similarly the third schedule has been amended to give protection to any cross of the grey duck. Advice to this effect has been received by Mr L. Millar, secretary of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, from the Assistant Under-secretary of Internal Affairs, Mr A. G. Harper. _ i Mr Millar commented to . the Daily Times yesterday that acclimatisation societies for many years had been pressing for the amendment which would give each individual society control not only over the pure bred mallard and grey duck but also the cross between mallard or grey, with any other species, variety or kind of duck. ~ . „__ “This is a most desirable step. -Mr Millar said, “as in recent years the onus has been on the society to prove that any birds taken illegally or in excess of bag limits were either purer bred mallard or grey duck. This was virtually an impossibility.” Mr Millar added that in the past crossbred duck had been fair game for anyone, but with their protection now listed, anyone disturbing these birds outside an open season for game would be dealt with under the Act