8 American Fisheries Society 



of the game laws are some of the oldest and most influential 

 corporations of Canada. One of these companies after a number 

 of other prosecutions, which failed to procure respect for the law, 

 has been lately condemned to a total fine of several thousand 

 dollars, exclusive of the costs, and involving also the confiscation 

 of 2000 pelts. These skins, of which three-quarters are beaver 

 skins, represent a total value of about $7,000.00. We firmly 

 believe that such results as these will produce excellent effects, 

 proving to the average citizen that game laws are not enforced 

 alone against the lower orders of the people, and showing the 

 wealthy that none are rich enough or influential enough to be 

 above the reach of the law. 



I have referred to the intimate connection between forest 

 protection and the conservation of fish and game. It may interest 

 you to know what our province has done and is still doing for the 

 conservation of its forests. It has a system of fire and forest 

 rangers which includes the services of nearly a hundred forest 

 rangers and about four hundred fire rangers and each of these is 

 also, ex-ofncio, a fish and game warden. They are appointed by 

 the Department of Lands and Forests and their names are sug- 

 gested by the lumbermen who have acquired the right to operate 

 in parts of the Crown forest. These holders of timber limits 

 have been organized by the Department into co-operative associa- 

 tions for protection against forest fires and they receive every 

 year financial aid from the Government. 



It would be interesting for members of an association like 

 yours to go through our game laws and see how severely we are 

 now dealing with poachers. Records are kept of all infractions 

 and we have in the Department a copy of every judgment rendered. 

 We have the name of every one against whom an action is taken, 

 the nature of the offense and also the place where it occurred. 

 This allows us at a glance to pick up the record of former offenses 

 and by sending to the prosecuting officer a copy of judgment 

 obtained previously, to establish before the court the status of the 

 accused. 



For a third offense, there is now a fine of from one to five 

 hundred dollars for each infraction. That is to say, if a person 

 is caught with 100 beaver skins, he is liable to a fine of $1,000.00 

 up to $5,000.00. 



