BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



53 



A PLEA FOR THE OWL. 



Readers of Bird Notes and News who 

 have preserved the Owl Map given in the 

 Winter Number, are asked to note that the 

 following counties must be added to the list 

 of those in which Owls are protected all 

 the year by County Council Orders : Mon- 

 mouthshire, Staffordshire, North Yorkshire, 

 and Westmoreland. The action taken in 

 the two last-named counties is a direct result 

 of the letter on the subject written to the 

 Times, on the appearance of this map, 

 by Canon Rawnsley. 



The Journal of the Royal Institute of 

 Public Health for February contained 

 " A Plea for the Owl," written by Captain 

 T. M. J. Tailby, a member of the Council 

 of the R.S.P.B., for the purpose of enhsting 

 the support of the medical profession in the 

 preservation of Owls as destroyers of vermin 

 and consequently, guarding against plague. 

 After quoting numerous authorities as to 

 the utility of the Owl in this respect, Captain 

 Tailby adds : 



It is greatly to be regretted that systematic 

 disregard of this law goes on in very many parts o 

 the kingdom, with the result that serious and active 

 assistance is given to the propagation of rats and 

 mice. Farmers are very much alive to this fact, 

 and bitter complaints are made by farmers of the 

 ruthless and imbecile destruction of their friends the 

 Owls. In some cases ^ shooting-men are themselves 



to blame in not keeping adequate control over their 

 keepers (in which respect syndicates are among the 

 worst offenders) ; but more frequently the keepers 

 wilfidly and persistently di.sobey the orders of their 

 masters that owls and kestrels are to be spared. The 

 brutal i)olo-trap, although made illegal by a special 

 Act of Parliament in 1004, Ls by no means extinct ; 

 many keepers use them still where they think that 

 they will not be seen {e.g., in secluded clearings in 

 woods, and on lonely moors), and by detecting and 

 reporting these broaches of the law any member of 

 the jjublic can give the most valuable assistance. 

 The pole-trap is the most doadlj', as well as the most 

 disgustingly cruel, of ail the owl's enemies, owing to 

 the bird's halnt of perching on stumps as a vantage 

 ground from which to see its prey. 



The Society's Inspector reports (March 

 1911) the continued existence of Pole-Traps 

 in Wales, and it is hoped that with respect 

 to this illegal practice, some convictions may 

 be secured. 



On the occasion of the Guildhall meeting 

 to consider the question of Rats and the 

 Plague, held on February 6th, a letter was 

 sent to the Lord Mayor by the R.S.P.B., 

 calling attention to the useful work of Owls 

 in the destruction of rats and mice. A 

 resolution was carried asking for the im- 

 mediate appointment of a Royal Commission 

 to enquire into the increase of vermin ; the 

 question of what creatures are or are not 

 harmful to cnan and his industries ; the safety 

 and efficiency of viruses and other means 

 advocated for the destruction of vermin. 



The Roydl Society for the Protection of Birds. 



ANNUAL MEETING. 



The Annual Meeting of the Society was held 

 on March 7th, at the Westminster Palace 

 Hotel, S.W., and was largely attended. 

 The President (the Duchess of Portland) 

 having telegraphed her regret at inability 

 to fulfil her engagement, the chair was taken 

 by JuHa Marchioness of Tweeddale, Mho 

 presented the silver and bronze medals, 



certificates, and books won by the successful 

 competitors in the Public-School Competition, 

 1910. The list of winners appeared in the 

 last number of Bird Notes a^b News. 

 Among the speakers were the Rev, the Hon. 

 Edward Lyttelton, Mr. Walter Goodfellow, 

 Mr. J. C. Tregarthen, Sir John Cockburn and 

 Mr. Montagu Sharpe (Chairman of Council). 

 A full report of the proceedings is included in 

 the Society's Annual Report. 



