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Thread ID: 67754 2006-04-05 00:51:00 Conscience, birds and guns Greg (193) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
443940 2006-04-05 00:51:00 I've got a real moral issue about killing things (except spiders), but I have a dilemna and a question:

We live in a nice neighbourhood with a lot of trees, hence a lot of birds including fantails, doves, wood pigeons, a visiting tui or two, amongst several others.

Problem is that the mynahs are a bullying lot, and apart from their horrible screeching, they beat up on the locals.

So, I hate to kill anything, but the local mynah population has to be somewhat decreased.

I need a gun. Preferably an M249 SAW (en.wikipedia.org), but a BB pellet gun will suffice. Do I need a licence to borrow one temporarily? And how/where can I loan/rent one? Is it legal to shoot BB's in a suburban environment here in Auckland? 		Greg (193)
443941 2006-04-05 00:59:00 you will need a license for a slug gun if under the age of 18. which I was living up in auckland I would come around with my armoury and let loose :D plod (107)
443942 2006-04-05 01:41:00 never feel guilty at taking out mynahs. Get some magpies for me as well :) netchicken (4843)
443943 2006-04-05 02:56:00 It isn't illegal but I don't think it would be a good idea to use an airgun to shoot birds in an urban area if the houses are fairly close together . For one thing airgun pellets can travel up to 400 metres if you miss your target and I am sure you are well acquainted with Murphy . :rolleyes:

For another it is an offence to discharge a firearm, airgun, etc near a house or public place to annoy or frighten people so if your neighbours hear you shooting away and call the cops they may take a pretty dim view of matters .

If you are not a regular shooter you are not likely to hit many birds and will probably just scare them away to another location, perhaps returning when the feathers have settled .

It might be safer and more effective to try poisoning them instead using the information here ( . ew . govt . nz/enviroinfo/pests/animals/rats . htm#Heading3" target="_blank">www . ew . govt . nz) and here ( . envbop . govt . nz/Land/Animals/Alphachloralose-For-Bird-Control . asp" target="_blank">www . envbop . govt . nz) .

As for feeling guilty about it, don't . Do the locals a favour and get rid of the mynahs . 		FoxyMX (5)
443944 2006-04-05 03:07:00 It might be safer and more effective to try poisoning them instead using the information here ( . ew . govt . nz/enviroinfo/pests/animals/rats . htm#Heading3" target="_blank">www . ew . govt . nz) and here ( . envbop . govt . nz/Land/Animals/Alphachloralose-For-Bird-Control . asp" target="_blank">www . envbop . govt . nz) .


but not as much fun . All i see this is an excuse to play with guns and good on you it is fun as long as you are safe . 		plod (107)
443945 2006-04-05 03:07:00 You might like to sing this as you lay some poison....

www.sing365.com

I'd like to take you now on wings of song, as it were, and try and help you forget perhaps for a while your drab, wretched lives. Here's a song all about spring-time in general, and in particular, about one of the many delightful pastimes the coming of spring affords us all.

Spring is here, a-suh-puh-ring is here.
Life is skittles and life is beer.
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring.
I do, don't you? 'Course you do.
But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me,
And makes ev'ry Sunday a treat for me.

All the world seems in tune
On a spring afternoon,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.
Ev'ry Sunday you'll see
My sweetheart and me,
As we poison the pigeons in the park.

When they see us coming, the birdies all try an' hide,
But they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide.
The sun's shining bright,
Ev'rything seems all right,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

Lalaalaalalaladoodiedieedoodoodoo

We've gained notoriety,
And caused much anxiety
In the Audubon Society
With our games.
They call it impiety,
And lack of propriety,
And quite a variety
Of unpleasant names.
But it's not against any religion
To want to dispose of a pigeon.

So if Sunday you're free,
Why don't you come with me,
And we'll poison the pigeons in the park.
And maybe we'll do
In a squirrel or two,
While we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment.
Except for the few we take home to experiment.
My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon.
It just takes a smidgin!
To poison a pigeon in the park. 		netchicken (4843)
443946 2006-04-05 03:19:00 but not as much fun. All i see this is an excuse to play with guns and good on you it is fun as long as you are safe.
Yes I know shooting them is much more fun but safety comes first, always. If Greg can knock them off safely then he will probably have a ball but it all depends on his "urban environment" situation. 		FoxyMX (5)
443947 2006-04-05 03:58:00 Greg: I got a BB gun here, wanna come over and pickup? :thumbs: bob_doe_nz (92)
443948 2006-04-05 04:19:00 How about get a cat & that will do the job for you :D

(Don’t know what a mynahs is, & I don’t think I have seen it up this way yet) 		stu161204 (123)
443949 2006-04-05 13:16:00 That's a tricky one, Greg.

(We don't have mynahs here, but magpies have the same affect on our native birds)

I agree with Foxy about the safety aspect. Irrespective of how good a shot you might be, suburban backyards are no place for shooting with any kind of gun.

Dunedin had a similar case recently.
Nobody was in fact injured,but neighbours were alarmed by the shots (as anyone in the suburbs would be nowadays) so called the police.

I think they prosecuted as much to make a point as to punish the shooter.
Basically it's illegal to discharge a firearm in a built-up area. It panics people.

The poison method described looks like a lot of follow-up work, rescuing the "good" birds as well as killing anaesthetised mynahs.
It looks like what your local bird/wildlife protection people should be doing, in fact, rather than individuals.
I don't necessarily mean DoC. Doesn't your local council have someone like a ratcatcher who thinks mynahs are vermin also?
Or is there a branch of Twig & Tweet? (Forest & Bird)
See whether someone else will share responsibility before you start blasting away solo...

P.S. How do you train a cat to kill only mynahs & not native birds, stu? 		Laura (43)
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