NOT CRUELTY

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20281, 25 August 1937, Page 8

NOT CRUELTY

LIVE BIRD SHOOTING B.P.C.A. INSPECTOR’S OPINION WORSE FORMS OF SPORT (Times Representative.) MORRINSVILLE. Tuesday “ With such a high standard of marksmanship as I have seen here to-day, i am satisfied that there is absolutely no cruelty In this sport,** said Mr. A. C. Andersen, inspector for the Society for the Prevention ot Cruelty to Animals, to a Waikato Times representative to-day, when commenting on the live-bird* shooting tournament at Morrinsville. *• Before people attack this sport it would be as well If they were to consider the cruelty which is carried on year after year by amateur shooters in* all parts of the Dominion. The latter class of shooter, not as proficient with the gun as the champion, wounds pheasants, rabbits and other game, which are allowed to get away carrying lead in their bodies. “ Since I have been here this morning not one injured bird has been allowed to get away. The scouts in the outfield prevent that and thus obviate any chance of the bird suffering. On the other hand birds which escape the. competition shooter are given a flight and are not touched by the scouts. My impression at to-day’s shoot Is that every participant Is humane and endeavours to kill hie bird outright. When a bird escapes him he is anxious to see that It is given its freedom and will not allow the scouts to molest It.

Killed Very Qulokly. M ln my opinion there is far mord cruelty practised by trout fishers and deep-sea fishermen than there is by competition shooters.” continued the speaker. “ While the angler plays and tortures his prey for hours on end, and even then sometimes loses it, these birds do not know a minute’s pain. They are killed very quickly and are not permitted to suffer any more than necessary. I see caged birds in every-day life suffer more than the birds on the shooting field. On the field everything is Instantaneous but In the homes of half our citizens large birds are kept in captivity for years fn small cages. To my mind that constitutes one of the worst forms of cruelty. “In addition. I would say that the bobbv-calf traffic Is 200 per cent more cruel than what I have seen to-day. On practically every farm in the country one can see half-starved calve# tied up on a short rope and allowed te stay out in all weathers for days on end. Their agony is far more prolonged than that of the pigeons and those who have condemned live-bird shooting as cruel would he well advised to turn their attention towartl# stopping the cruelty which Is practised ou the farms c\ery day of the week.”