NIGHT PROWLERS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 87, 3 December 1931, Page 6

NIGHT PROWLERS

(Press Assn.-

MAN ATTACKED STOCK AND POULTRY KILLED AND PROPERTY DESTROYED PARAPARAUMU MYSTERY

-By Telegraph — Copyright).

WELLINGTON, Wednesday. The destruction of property and the killing of animals by an unknown night prowler are still reported at intervals in the township of Paraparaumu, despite the efforts of the police and residents. The mystery is of several years' standing, and remains unsolved. Not long ago a fowlyard was entered, and a number of birds J^illed and hanged by their necks in a row on a clothes line. A pig was killed one still night within a short distance of' several homes. This incident supports the local theory that the prowler is a person such as a trapper, experienced in the rapid dispatching of animals, because it is difficult to kill a pig silently. One morning a dog was found hanging with a wire twisted about its neck. Another night a haystack was set afire. Not long ago a glasshouse was entered, and the plants were killed with a poisonous spray. It is reported that an elderly man living alone was attacked in his cottage. The intruder blew out the light but when the occupant showed fight the attacker departed as silently as he had come. A vigilance committee was formed, and patrols were organised, but this proved ineffective, and the committee disbanded.