REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 27 



steadily lowered so as to include a youiiiier class of seals 

 under the designation of "killables." Instead of skins 

 weighing 7 or 8 lbs., those of 5 lbs. and (as vre have ascer- 

 tained on excellent authority) even of 4 lbs. and of 3| lbs. 

 Lave been taken and were accepted by the Company as 

 early as 1889. 



This is in marked contrast with the conduct of aftairs on 

 the Commander Islands, where no seals yielding skins 

 below 7 lbs. in weight have been allowed to be killed for 

 some years, and where in 1891, in order to attbrd a factor 

 ot safety, the limiting weight of skins was raised to 8 lbs. 



73. The Company holding the lease of the Pribyloff 

 Islands had, of course, its own interests in view, and the 

 period of its lease was drawing to a close; but it must be 

 added that no explanation has been offered by the Govern- 

 ment Agents in charge of the islands of the principles 

 under which they were guided to allow this lowering of 

 standards, with the concomitant encroachment on the 

 limits of breeding rookeries, and the extension of the area 

 of driving- to places hitherto held in reserve. 



74. Summarizing the causes of w^aste of seal life involved . waste of seal 

 in the metliods actually practised in killing' seals on the 

 Pribylofit Islands (§ (559 et seq.), we tind the following to be 



the most serious: 



(i.) The killing of unweaned "pnps" and of "stagey" 

 seals for " food," which together reached an average amount 

 equalling" 7 per cent, of the total annual catch. The skins 

 of such seals are unmerchantable, and their slaughter is 

 now admitted to be unnecessary, but it has been allowed 

 to continue till the year 1891. 



(ii.) Accidental killing of seals, due to over-driving, and 

 other violence inseparable from the mode of "driving" 

 and clubbing the seals. These evils had been fully dealt 

 wuth by the United States Special Agent in his report 



for 1890. 

 13 (iii.) "Stampedes" upon the breeding rookeries, 

 caused by efforts to secure "drives" too close to 

 their borders, or to carelessness of various kinds. -These 

 are especially destructive to "pups," which are trampled 

 to death by the older seals. 



(iv.) Effects of disturbance on the breeding rookeries, 

 and of distress and fright resulting from "driving," which, 

 it is believed, causes many mothers with young, as well as 

 other classes of seals, to leave the breeding islands pre- 

 maturely. 



(v.) Surreptitious killing* of seals by unauthorized per- 

 sons on the islands. This may not liave reached great 

 dimensions, but is known to have occurred, and no statis- 

 tics can be obtained res])ecting' it. 



(vi.) Raids upon the rookeiies, rendered possible by the 

 laxity of control and supervision, which pi'ove most de- 

 structive to all classes of seals engaged in breeding, and 

 especially- to nursing mothers and "pups." 



75. The ofticial statistics show, besides the seals killed 

 of which the skins were accepted for shipment, only those 

 killed for " food," and of which the skins were rejected. 



