62 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



have not, as yet, solved the difficulties in the way of swim- 

 ming through a solid block of ice. 



Is Trapping Cruel? 



A hue and cry has been started in some quarters against 

 the taking of our native mammals for fur, as a decided 

 economic waste ; as a trade that depends on extreme cruelty 

 for its existence; as a pastime, and a profession which is 

 against all the ethics of true conservation. In this regard 

 it might be well to quote one of the foremost champions of 

 our vanishing wild life, Dr. William T. Hornaday, former 

 director of the New York Zoological Park, who, in dis- 

 cussing the status of the fur-bearers, recently said: 14 



"The real fur-bearing animals of the world stand on a 

 basis apart from most other wild animals of the world. 

 Many of them are fiercely predatory and absolutely require 

 the hand of the human killer to keep them from overrun- 

 ning and devouring men, beasts and birds. For example: 



"Wolves, wherever they occur in large numbers, con- 

 stitute a nuisance and scourge of the first magnitude. With 

 unparalleled ferocity they devour the wounded and the dead 

 of their own kind, their own pups, and the game of every 

 description, from mice to men. It is true that their slaugh- 

 ter of men is not great, but that is because man is himself a 

 dangerous animal of no mean proportions. The depreda- 

 tions of gray wolves and coyotes on little sheep and colts of 

 the western stock ranges are at all times very exasperating, 

 and millions of dollars have been expended in wages and 

 bounties for wolf destruction. 



"In approaching the wolves and weasels, some of our 

 principles against the extermination of species break down, 

 and we note exceptions. There are those who believe that 

 it would be a good thing for the world at large if all wolves 

 and weasels were to be totally blotted out of existence. We 

 believe that their destruction of more valuable wild crea- 

 tures outweighs their own fur value. 



u The Fur Trade and the Wild Animals, Bull, N. Y., Zoological Soc. vol. 

 iv, Xo. 2, pp- 36-38. Mar., 1921. 



