Introduction -^ 



Buxton and others recently at work in Northern Nigeria — 

 have killed with discretion and strict moderation, and 

 with the definite object of increasing our store of know- 

 ledge and enriching the national collections, while they 

 have accompanied their cautious toll of the African fauna 

 by valuable studies — generally photographic — of the 

 animals' life-habits. 



It is not against the actons of such men as these that 

 Herr Schillings or the writer of this Introduction raises 

 any protest ; it is against the idea that the destruction 

 of the African fiuna is part of a fashionable man's 

 education, against the damage done by a hundred obscure 

 shooters that the protest is necessary. For this reason 

 public opinion should strengthen as far as possible the 

 wise action of Governments in protecting the world's 

 fauna all the world over, wherever the creatures thus 

 protected do not come into too dangerous competition 

 with the welfare of human Ijeings. Moreover, it is 

 for the welfare of humanity in general that this plea is 

 entered. The world will become very uninteresting 

 if man and his few domestic animals, together with 

 the rat, mouse, and sparrow, are its only inhabitants 

 amongst the land vertebrates. Man's interests must 

 come first, but those very interests demand food for 

 the intellect. .EstheticalU', the egret, toucan, bird of 

 paradise, grebe, sal)l(', chinchilla, and fur-seal are as 

 important as the well-dressed woman, d he vipc-r, lion, 

 tiger, croccjclile, wolf \-ulture, and rhinoceros ha\-e all 

 their j)laces to till in our world-picture. Ihey are 

 amaziniJ^lv interesting", and therefore their destruction 



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