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CRUEL TREATMENT OF BIRDS DEMANDED BY DAME 



FASHION. 



All of my readers probably know in a 

 general way that Dame Fashion is re- 

 sponsible for the destruction of the lives 

 of many birds, but they may not know to 

 what extent this i3 true. 



Why do we say that any cruel treat- 

 ment of the birds is chargeable to fash- 

 ion? It can hardly be necessary to re- 

 mind ourselves that there is in almost 

 every boy's nature a touch of the savage 

 instincts which find expression in the de- 

 sire to kill something. Traces of this in- 

 stinct do not entirely disappear with the 

 development into manhood, but show 

 themselves there in the love of hunting 

 and fishing. Let these remnants of sav- 

 agery be appealed to by the promise of 

 gain and they are immediately fanned in- 

 to fiame in the natures of those persons 

 who are naturally more strongly drawn 

 to this primitive occupation of men. In 

 short, place before the professional hunt- 

 er an easy means of profiting by his skill 

 as a hunter, and in far too many instances 

 he will smother any humane instincts 

 which he may have for the sake of the 

 gain. It is the demands of fashion for 

 plumes and feathers for hat trimmings 

 which place before these hunters the 

 temptation to kill. Have we not a right, 

 therefore, to place the blame at the door 

 of Fashion? 



But what are the practices which we 

 call cruel ? In the first place it is cruelty 

 to cause the destruction of life without 

 good and sufficient reason. Unneces- 

 sary sacrifice of life is cruelty. Certain- 

 ly no one will say that it is necessary to 

 trim hats with feathers. Fashion decrees 

 that feathers must be worn, and presto! 

 feathers are worn. In the second place, 

 it is cruel to kill birds who are feeding 

 young ones in the nest, leaving them to 

 starvation. Yet this is just what has hap- 

 pened and does happen every year. 

 Plume hunters are no respecters of times 

 and seasons. With them there are no 

 closed seasons. The birds which they 

 are after gather in large rookeries during 



the nesting season and are therefore 

 much easier to capture then than at other 

 times. 



Most of the herons and similar plume- 

 bearing birds are hunted arid killed for 

 the plumes alone, or, at most, for a very 

 small part of the whole plumage. The 

 part wanted is taken and the rest left to 

 waste, while the bird's body is never used 

 for anything. If nothing worse, it is an 

 unpardonable waste. In Florida alone 

 whole rookeries of herons and ibises 

 numbering hundreds and even thousands 

 of individuals have been wholly de- 

 stroyed. Now the insatiable plume hunt- 

 er, in his efifort to supply the demands of 

 a no less insatiable fashion, is pursuing 

 the unfortunate birds into the fastnesses 

 of Mexico and South America. There is 

 but one way to stop this work of exter- 

 mination, and that is to take away the 

 demand. This remedy lies wholly in the 

 hands of women. Unless they are willing 

 to take a firm stand against the use of 

 feathers for purposes of ornament the 

 birds are doomed. This may seem like a 

 strong statement, but a little reflection 

 will prove It true. When the birds which 

 are now hunted for plumes and feathers 

 are gone, there will be a modification of 

 the demand to include birds of different 

 plumage, just as the aigrette is giving 

 place to the quill. After the quill and the 

 long-pointed wing will come the shorter 

 wing, and after that the plumage of the 

 small birds, and the cycle of destruction 

 will be complete. 



Some one may ask why it is that the 

 birds are so foolish as to allow the hunter 

 to kill hundreds in a single day from one 

 rookery. Why don't they leave the re- 

 gion when the shooting begins? The 

 plume hunter has learned cunning. He 

 no longer uses a shot gun, but a small 

 caliber rifle or a wholly noiseless air gun. 

 The rifle makes no more noise than the 

 snapping of a twig, and will therefore not 

 frighten the birds. By remaining con- 

 cealed the hunter may kill every bird that 



