268 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



vision in force, one sportsman might shoot the whole 

 number of, say, barasingha {Cervus duvauceli) permissible 

 for the year and thus close this particular animal to suc- 

 ceeding rifles for the rest of the season — a somewhat unfair 

 and onerous restriction. 



The size of a Sanctuary must, of course, entirely depend 

 on local conditions and on the nature of the animals to be 

 protected. Such animals as the rhinoceros or gaur, which 

 are of an extremely shy disposition and are given to roaming 

 considerable distances, would require an area of considerable 

 dimensions, whereas chital {Cervus axis) and hogdeer 

 {Cervus porcimis) would require a comparatively small one. 



Pheasants, again, would not require large areas, and the 

 same applies to the hill sheep and goats — a nullah or certain 

 nullahs being proscribed as closed to shooting, as, in fact, is 

 done in Kashmir. 



Game Sanctuaries may then be of several kinds : 



1. Entirely closed to all shooting. 



2. Closed to beating only. 



3. Closed to the shooting of certain species of game. 



4. Closed to shooting of all game, save noxious ones, 



carnivora, pig, etc. 



The question of enforcing the Sanctuary law against 

 shooting is one of some difficulty. In Reserved Forests it 

 is comparatively easy, since all shooting without special 

 passes in such areas is forbidden and the granting of these 

 would be stopped for Sanctuaries. Outside, however, the 

 matter is by no means so simple, and the people of the 

 country, particularly the shooting element, will require a 

 careful education if they are to understand and respect 

 the Sanctuary, should it be formed in Government Waste 

 Land. It will be necessary to fully explain the uses of 

 Sanctuaries, and the reason for closing the areas as soon 

 as attempts have been made to form them. 



At present anyone may enter on land, which is not reserved 

 forest, and shoot. To alter this would at once curtail what 

 is a prescriptive right, and this is the main obstacle to the 

 introduction of a Game Law. Rich and poor alike enjoy 

 this privilege, and although the occupier may in time come 

 to learn that shooting rents can add to his income, or reserve 

 his waste land for his own shooting and close it to the general 

 public, as is done in some cases in the Dun below the 

 Mussoorie Hills, it will be difficult to introduce restrictions 



