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HUNTERS LOOK BEFORE YOU SHOOT Conservation Commissioner Warns Nimrods to Be Careful When Hunting New York October 23 Look before you shoot is the word passed to hunters at the open ¬ ing of the dear season by Conservation Commissioner Gegrge D Pratt Human life will IHS saved the commissioner says and the states deer herds which are of special importance for food in time of war will be protected by avoiding the shooting of does doesThe The toll of human life in every hunting season is appalling continues Commissioner Pratt but since the buck law went into effect in New York State the number of hunters killed in mistake for deer has shown a marked decrease In one year the mortality from this cause stopped altogether altogetherIt It is perfectly clear that if one waits to see the horns on a buck Iwfore he pulls the trigger there will be no danger of shooting a fellow sportsman sportsmanThe The studies made by the Conservation Commis ¬ sion during the last three years have proved that the relative proportion of does to bucks in New York State is two to one and that the deer arc breeding normally By shooting only bucks th does arc retained to keep the states deer herd to the maximum possible under present conditic t In this time of food shortage when it is necejr ry to make the wisest use of our resources w out diminishing futuresupply it is the part not J y of good sportsmanship but of real patriotism ob ¬ serve the game law most carefully Approximately 10000 deer are shot 1 ally in New York State each year and their dr sod car ¬ casses which average at least 100 r mils are worth to the people of the state in fowl it a valua ¬ tion of only twentyfive cents a por d at least 250000 annually If we consider tliF AS an annual interest at six per cent upon capita represented in the total deer herd it is thus api cut that New Yorks deer are wortli a capital iff stmcnt of more than 4000000 This is a natni resource so val ¬ uable to the people of the statd j money alone as well as in health and recreation that every sports ¬ man should cooperate in protecting it in accordance with the law lawEvery Every pound of venison should be utilized fully even though it is sometimes difficult to get it out of the woods The hides should be sent promptly to tanners or sold to fur buyers By so doing New Yorks annual1 deer supply will help appreciably to offset the general scarcity of meat and leather
