Annual Report of Secretary 



289 



ANNUAL REPORT OF SECRETARY 



The past year of Audubon work has been marked by some of the fiercest 

 struggles we have ever encountered with the enemies of bird and game protection. 

 During the years when our legislative activities were devoted largely to securing 

 the enactment of laws for the protection of the non-game birds, our chief enemy 

 was simple indifference to the importance of bird preservation on the part of 

 people generallv. In only a few instances did active opposition have to be over- 

 •come. However, since the work of the Association has grown to include the field 



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WILSON'S I'LUVEK 



A game bird too small to make it available for food; it should be removed to the non-game bird 



class. Photographed by P. B. Philipp 



of game bird and animal protection, a formidable array of market men, market 

 hunters and bird dealers have been encountered. Furthermore, with the estab- 

 lishment of state game commissions, supported by hunters' license fees, large 

 sums of money have been gathered in the game-protection funds in many states, 

 which has attracted the attention and drawn the interest of politicians, whose 

 desire, in some instances at least, has been to aid their political friends rather than 

 the cause of game protection. Again, new laws, which if left undisturbed would 

 -eventually prove to be wise ones, often appear to conflict with the interests of 

 people, and, before a fair trial can be given, attempts are prematurely made to 

 repeal them. 



A still further source of opposition has been the large millinery interests, 

 which, from a business standpoint, naturally resent the attempts of the Associa- 

 tion to strengthen the non-game bird laws of the country by prohibiting the sale 

 of the plumage of all wild birds. 



