5 



It is also admitted that " the mortality is 

 undoubtedly very high, and the matter calls 

 for extreme vigilance on the part of the police 

 and the E.S.P.C.A." On the other hand, the 

 principal reason, or excuse, for this depletion 

 of the nation's birds, is given in the supposed 

 benefit derived by the farmer from the removal 

 of destructive birds. How often, the public 

 will naturally inquire, does the catch consist of 

 House-Sparrows, and how often of Goldfinches, 

 Skylarks, Linnets, and Chaffinches ? And what 

 would be the effect if economic knowledge 

 prompted the farmer, and if the catcher were 

 not allowed to sell the birds ? 



The recommendations (which might wisely 

 have been given without the comments) are : — 



Birdcatchers to take out a 5s. licence, and convictions 

 to be entered on the licence; 



Use of braced birds, of maimed or blinded decoy- 

 birds, and of bird-lime to be prohibited; 



Killing and taking of all birds in any public place, 

 highway, byway, common or waste land to be pro- 

 hibited all the year ; 



Written permission to be required from owners or 

 occupiers ; 



Birds, nests, and eggs to be protected on Sundays 

 throughout the country; 



The law to provide for the liberation of birds 

 illegally taken as soon as the species has been estab- 

 lished ; 



Power of forfeiture in respect of bird or egg, and 

 of net, trap, a,nd decoy-bird, to be nicaintained and 

 automatically to follow on conviction ; this jDower to 

 be extended to any gun or other instrument used in 

 killing or taking birds, and to nest or skin or plumage 

 of any bird illegally killed. 



Bird Shops, 



The principal recommendations under this 

 head are limited to " regular and careful in- 

 spection " of shops and places where birds arc 

 kept, and a 5s. licence for dealers. No recom- 

 mendation is made as to the size of cages. In 

 order to establish the decision in Flov/er v. 

 Watts, it is recommended that the clause as to 

 possession run : — 



" It should be prohibited on and after the 15th day 

 of close-time for any bird, or absolutely in the case of 

 birds protected all the year round, to expose or offer 

 for sale or have in control or possession any wild bird 

 killed contrary to the Act or Order thereunder, or any 

 live bird the killing or taking of which is at that time 

 prohibited in the place where such bird is exposed or 

 offered for sale, etc." 



Imported Birds. 



By way of dealing with the difliculty as to 

 imported birds it is proposed to place on the 

 importer the onus of proof that the bird was 

 taken or killed abroad, or, preferably, to do 

 away with this clause in the 1881 Act altogether 



and make the prohibition on sale or exposure 

 for sale during close-time absolute, covering 

 both British and imported birds. This would 

 make illegal the sale of birds kept in cold 

 storage, and the appearance in poulterers' 

 shops in close-time of Plover and Ruiis in 

 breeding plumage. 



Offences Old and New. 



The use of the pole-trap and of hooks for 

 catching birds is prohibited by the Acts of 

 1904 and 1908 respectively. " This prohibi- 

 tion should certainly be maintained." 



The use of mechanically propelled boats or 

 vehicles for the purpose of taking or killing wild 

 birds should be prohibited. The use of air- 

 craft for the same purpose should also be 

 banned, the Report stating that already con- 

 siderable destruction has resulted. 



The Committee do not propose to interfere 

 with shore-nets used for taking Plover, Waders, 

 and Barnacle Geese, provided the close-time 

 be strictly enforced, but the " effect on birds 

 accidentally taken and the numbers so taken 

 should be carefully watched.'" 



The Plumage Trade. 



Although the vast majority of plumage em- 

 ployed is imported, the Committee deal v.ith 

 the subject ; and the inclusion of skins and 

 plumage in the illegal possession clause should 

 be of some avail in saving Kittiwakes and other 

 birds of our own coasts. For birds not 

 scheduled by the Act, however, the difficulty 

 v/ould remain, unless the powers of local 

 authorities be extended as far out to sea as 

 those of the Imperial authority. 



The Committee regret that the Government 

 Bill of 1914 was not then placed on the Statute 

 Book, and trust it will be re-introduced and 

 passed at the earliest opportunity. They 

 express a further hope that the proposal for an 

 International Conference will be revived as soon 

 as conditions permit, and that an earnest effort 

 will be made to secure a satisfactory Convention 

 on the lines suggested by the Colonial Comnuttee 

 (appointed by Lord Crewe) in 1912. 



Other Recommendations. 



"In the case oj both loorker and child education 

 is imperative. In order to protect birds they 

 must know a little about them. Information 

 regardivff their characteristics and habits must be 

 circulated. . . . Bird and Tree {Arbor Day) 

 schemes or their equivalent must bring light and 



