386 READINGS IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 



in the wild of any species on which there is a considerable premium. The 

 only real hope for the preservation of the rare fur animals is the end of 

 the practice of wearing their pelts. Giving up the wearing of the feathers 

 of wild birds was all that prevented the extermination of many species 

 by the millinery trade; and giving up the wearing of valuable furs is all that 

 will save the rare animals. 



To conmiercialize any ivild creature is the surest way to bring about its 

 extermination. 



KILLING FOR FUN 



^^Sportf'^ ''SportS7ne7j" and "Sportsmanship'^ 



Among the smaller mammals, the chief prey of the hunter includes the 

 squirrel, rabbit, opossum, raccoon and fox. The hunting of each of these 

 animals is characterized by abuses and cruelties that would not be permitted 

 if man were really civilized, or as the dictionary quaintly puts it, "reclaimed 

 from the savage state." 



It is customary in some regions to seek the winter nests of squirrels after 

 the leaves are off the trees, (an easy matter requiring no exertion or acu- 

 men), and then to blast the nests with the myriad-pellet discharge of a shot- 

 gun. The nest is a large target that cannot well be missed, and its occupants 

 are victims that have no chance of escape. Sport? Perhaps so, in the estima- 

 tion of hopelessly deficient morons. For appraisal, however, contrast this 

 method with that of the old time rifleman. He secured the squirrel needed 

 for an occasional stew with the aid of a muzzle-loading rifle; he never 

 thought of shooting-up a squirrel nest, and he prided himself upon a skill 

 that avoided mutilation of the animal. He stunned or killed it by placing 

 the single bullet on which success depended in the bark close to the squirrel, 

 a practice so widely followed as to call for the addition to the vernacular 

 of the phrase "barking squirrels." 



Nor is importation a solution of the problem of game maintenance. Im- 

 portation is proof that regulation of hunting activities either has failed, 

 or has not even been attempted. Where hunting is not regulated, importa- 

 tion can at best be only a stop-gap. The importation of rabbits is a serious 

 indication of the depletion that must surely be overtaking other species 

 that have a much smaller reproductive capacity. Nor will there always be 

 "sucker states" that will permit their stocks to be commercialized out of 

 existence. Years ago, certain states allowed the wholesale trapping and sale 

 of Bobwhites. Try now to find such a state; there is none, though in 1935 

 Mexico foolishly permitted us to import 23,358 Bobwhites which were sent 

 to twelve states. Soon, the importation from state to state of rabbits will 

 also have to be abandoned. 



The use of dogs in the pursuit of the raccoon (and of the opossum) is 



