496 ALASKAN HERD. 



That the said firm has often been informed that in order to capture 

 one animal the persons engaged in the chase are 



Emin Herts, p. 588. frequently obliged to kill or wound three or four. 

 That under these circumstances and in conse- 

 quence of the destruction of the females, there is no doubt in the mind 

 of deponent that the race is in great danger of being exterminated, to 

 the profit of a few individuals and to the detriment of an important 

 industry which up to the present has supplied the means of livelihood 

 to thousands of persons in Europe and America. 



That the said firm believes it to be to everyone's interest that the 

 countries interested in the question (America and Russia) should take 

 measures to safeguard their rights from the point of view of the capture 

 of the seals, and that if not, if this pursuit in the open sea continues as 

 in the past two years, the said firm firmly believes that in a short time 

 the seal will exist only as a souvenir and will be completely extermi- 

 nated. 



That this industry, which has produced during twenty years nearly 

 25,000,000 of francs annually, will have disappeared, owing to this 

 cause, to the detriment of a very great number of persons. 



That we firmly believe that if the slaughter of the Northwest coast 



fur-seals is not stopped or regulated, the Alaska 



Lion h'vriUon, p. 590. fur-seals will disappear entirely, as is the ease 



with the seals of the Shetland Islands, from 



where hardly a single seal has been received during the last ten years. 



That the annihilation of the seals would be a very great loss for our 



country, for the fur of the seal cau not be replaced by any other. It 



would also be a great loss for the workmen who are specially trained 



for the work upon these skins. 



Opinions of American Furriers. 



Page. 245 of The Case. 



In our opinion unless stringent measures be adopted on the part of 

 those having authority on waters adjacent to these 

 C. G. Gunther>8SoH8,p. [ S \. MH {* ;lllt i 011 a n contiguous bodies, the fur- 

 seal of Alaska will sooii be exterminated and this 

 valuable industry, alike of great importance to the people of Europe 

 and America, will have received its deathblow. 



And is of the opinion that open-sea seal fishing should be absolutely 



prohibited, and that if the same is not done the 



Herman Liebes, p. 514. seals will within two, or at the utmost three, years 



be exterminated. This opinion is based upon the 



assumption that the present restriction imposed by the United States 



and Russia on the number, age, and sex of the seals killed upon the 



islands owned by them respectively are to be maintained. 



I am of the opinion that the nations interested should arrive at some 

 agreement by which the killing of seals in the 

 Samuel Ullmann, p.527. wa t er wdl be Stopped. 



From my knowledge of the sealing business I am satisfied that the 

 seals will be entirely exterminated unless protected 

 Elkan Wassermann, p. from the indiscriminate pursuit in the waters that 

 453 « has been going on for the last few years. 



