Destruction Of Game A Calamity: Everywhere Except in North America Great Inroads Have Been Made on Game Supply of the World., Daily Racing Form, 1919-07-15

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DESTRUCTION OF GAME A CALAMITY Everywhere Except in North America Great Inroads Have Been Mado on Qame Supply of the World The total death casualties of the war have been estimated by Secretary of War Baker as 9000000 men Tlic total population of the world is I believe soniethihg over a billion and a quarter souls so that the world lost something like seven per cent of its population But reproduction was going on all the time and the world has more people today than when the war began writes John B Burnham in the New York Sun SunAiidubon Aiidubon once estimated that a single flock of passenger pigeons which lie saw contained more birds than the total population of the world yet only a few decades later there were no passenger pigeons The race had been annihilated annihilatedThe The comparison Is interesting for it illustrates the fact that the human being is the most hardy game animal of all The greatest war of history not only failoil to annihilate but also failed to stop mans increase Also it must be observed that while humanity is increasing game Is decreasing decreasingThe The ratio between man and the game lie hunts is constantly assuming a more unfavorable percen age as regards the game And the war itself paradoxical though it may be lias in many places and over largfe areas accentuated the disparity disparityAlmost Almost everywhere except in North America the food shortage has caused appalling inroads on the game supply In England the honorary secretary of the English Game Guild tells me it will take at east twenty years to get game back to anything like normal abundance The great increase in ver ¬ min with the game keepers off at the war is partly responsible for this In Russia many of the finest preiscrves have been ruined and game no ¬ where exists in its former supply In France the poison gases have completed the work of destruction The Mexican bandits in their mountain retreats have converted magnificent game sections into unpro ¬ ductive wastes wastesSLAUGHTERED SLAUGHTERED FOR RIFLE PRACTICE Carl Akeley says that the war has taken a toll of from half to twothirds of African game in the sections where there has been fighting Much of this game he says was wantonly slaughtered by the Boers for rifle practice Aside from the northern portion of North America the picture is one of nearly universal gloom but here I am glad to say conditions are much brighter brighterBoth Both Canada and the United States have wonder ful food supplies and what is more important still an exalted brand of wisdom with regard to their natural resources In both nations the full meaning of the value of the conservation of wild life is at least recognized This was never more clearly demonstrated than by the passage of the treaty for the protection of migratory birds which today unites the two countries in brotherly bond and which was ratified by Canada during the darkest hours of the war warNeither Neither country for a moment lost its good sense In the face of the clamor for cheap food in the form of marketed game efficient protective laws were in no way relaxed Both countries knew that if the demand were granted it would mean the annihilation of the game without any appreciable benefit for the price of food would not have been beenlowered lowered by any fraction of the medium of exchange Today both countries have more game than when whenthe the war began ame which is of far greater value from the standpoint of making by the takingsmen takingsmenand and soldiers selfreliant and healthy individuals individualsthan than it can ever be for food alone GAME NOW ON INCREASE INCREASEI I have seen it stated of that force of troops which Canada sen at the start of the war that 75 pec cent were sportsmen After the proof these men made of splendid valor and efficiency no fur ¬ ther argument is needed in support of game protec ¬ j tion If such men are bred and vitalized by any sport then it is sacrilege to endanger that snort Thank God the officials who have been responsible for the preservation 61 the game have been true to their trust trustJust Just one word of caution here which must be taken at its relative value to the whole subject I The tendency today is toward too much restrictive law We must not let the tail wag the dog Con ¬ servation of game is right but the conservation of sport is righteous Next to the advance of civilization the chief fac tor that hag reduced our game is the market hunter Almost everywhere we have pitt an end to the com ¬ mercialism of game with the result that game is on the increase The low water mark in many places has been passed Wejiave the laws and the ma ¬ chinery for putting them into effect effectFrom From my viewpoint we now need better enforce ¬ ment of existing laws rather than additional rer stricfions which are only exasperating to gooi sportsmcn Where the law is not thoroughly en ¬ forced you and I know that such restrictions pen ¬ alize tiic best class only and that the others do as they please Laws as a general rule should noi be enacted too far in advance of public sentiment Closed seasons are worse than useless unless they are enforced and the vermin kept down I say they aro worse than useless because they do not increase the game while they do increase lawlessness and disregard for other laws In the United States antelope and mountain sheep have been exterminated under long closed seasons In tliis instance it Is true there should have been closed seasons but they should have been enforced It would be much better to lose the game withou law than to lose both the game and respect for law at the same time NEED FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ENFORCEMENTAt At the recent dinner of the Canadian Camp in New York a Canadian member of parliament told how generally game laws were violated in his province At Fort Yukon they fed dogs on white flour last winter with moose in sight every day but on the headwaters of the White Kiver men were taking dogs to board and feeding them mountain sheep sheepDont Dont spring your law no matter how good until you are prepared to put teeth in it Better err on the side of too great liberality than err in the other way Educate the public to see the necessity for protective legislation The great mass of tes ¬ timony proves that paper laws play into the hands of the Huns of sport Let us by all means have fewer restrictions and better law enforcement enforcementIn In the United States we feel that the situation as regarils the future of the wild fowl supply for the present and future is now amply safeguarded by the migratory bird treaty act Though of not nearly so great importance as our treaty with Can ¬ ada we hope within a reasonable time to secure similar relations withMexico withMexicoThe The wild fowl supply has certainly increased tremendously in the last few years and I say this despite the fact that on the American sid of the line the shooting season just past was in many parts of our country the poorest we have had in forty years This was due of course to the unusual mildness of the weather In bejjgriil be States are looking mucl more closely than ever before to maintaining their sup ¬ plies of localized game A businesslike feature to ¬ ward this end which is receiving much attention with us is the game census In many states tliu new hunting licenses require in addition to the usual facts a report of all game and fur bearing animals and vermin taken during the previous year This killing of vermin is encouraged encouragedThis This is being supplemented by estimates of the game animals mid game birds at large in the covers It is a business proposition this inventory ¬ ing of resources and it furnishes a business basis for new regulations I look to see the system greatly perfected in the United States and Canada during the next few years Then too we are doing a tremendous work in the United States in propagating game chiefly deer and plicasants to stock depleted sections The stalls in the aggregate are spending a good many hundreds of thousands of dollars in this way for the benefit of tin sportsmen Looking to the day wlifii wild fur bearing animals will be less nu ¬ merous than at present the United State govern ¬ ment under the direction of Ir Nelsons depart iiient Jiaferustublishcd an experimental fur farm iu Northern New York IIK r


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