Give Sonny a break – and spare a thought for the kaumatua who have been deprived of his gift

These couldn’t be so easily carried on to a plane – not by mistake, anyway.

Alf is disinclined to add his voice to the cries of outrage about a prominent indigenous person who has become embroiled in a row over his relationship with  indigenous birds.

No, stupid. Not wahine.

We are talking here of kereru, or native wood pigeons for any of Alf’s constituents who might be recent immigrants.

The NZ Herald reports here on the matter:

Ngapuhi chairman Sonny Tau has admitted to being caught in possession of dead kereru and says he deeply regrets his mistake.

Mr Tau confirmed that he was questioned on Tuesday by a Department of Conservation officer about the kereru –
also known as native wood pigeon – in his possession.

Oh dear.

It’s a rare bird and it is protected.

Maybe the way to stop the poaching of kereru is to permit sales of fried pigeon and chips

Put it on the KFC menu and it might be saved.

Oh dear. It looks like native wood pigeons are as doomed as the moa, at least in some parts of the country.

And for much the same reason. They make good tucker (or at least, that’s what Alf is told, although he has never eaten pigeon pie, or pigeon kai, or any other pigeon-based dishes).

In the Far North, some people obviously are tucking in, even though the bird is supposed to be legally protected.

The consequences are reported in the Sunday Star-Times here.

Maori poachers hunting wood pigeons to the verge of extinction in the north are refusing to listen to pleas to stop from their community.

And –

The birds are in decline in Northland, where hapu mumbers say they have found evidence of illegal hunting.