Let's weed out the 'bird dumpers' giving us a bad name

Hunters who dumped birds in separate incidents in both the North and South Islands have cast a shadow over the otherwise happy start to the game bird season.

More than 50 ducks were dumped in a waterway near Cambridge, and a similar number near Timaru.

These actions, environmental considerations aside, have wasted a lot of good quality wild meat and those responsible have no place in gamebird hunting ranks.

Such actions fly in the face of hunting ethics and hurt the rest of us as responsible members of the wider hunting community.

If you know anyone guilty of such deplorable wastage help us weed them out!

It shows a complete disregard for both the local community and environmental values to use a waterway as a dump site for duck carcasses.

It’s perhaps worth reminding all hunters of the responsible approach to get rid of breasted birds, instead of dumping them. Take a spade along on a hunting trip so that you can bury game bird carcasses if necessary.

There's no law against taking game bird carcasses to the dump either. Just make sure they're covered up in a sealed bag as the public won’t see them as birds that have had their usable meat breasted off them – they will see birds which have been wantonly killed and wasted.

If you have carcasses at home to get rid of, and rubbish day is a while off, and you’re worried about smells, flies, etc, consider freezing them until the night before. Use pruning secateurs to remove their legs first as their sharp frozen nails will tear thin rubbish bags.