OF WILD ANIMALS 51 



cies is a crime; but the regulated destruction of wild pests that 

 have been proven guilty, is sometimes necessary and justifiable. 



Art. 8. No group or species of birds or mammals that is 

 accused of offenses sufficiently grave to merit destruction shall 

 be condemned undefended and unheard, nor without adequate 

 evidence of a character which would be acceptable in a court 

 of law. 



Art. 9. The common assumption that every bird or mam- 

 mal that offends, or injures the property of any man, is neces- 

 sarily deserving of death, is absurd and intolerable. The death 

 penalty should be the last resort, not the first one ! 



Art. 10. Any nation that fails adequately to protect its 

 crop-and-tree-protecting birds deserves to have its fields and 

 forests devastated by predatory insects. 



Art. 11. No person has any moral right to keep a wild 

 mammal, bird, reptile or fish in a state of uncomfortable, un- 

 happy or miserable captivity, and all such practices should be 

 prevented by law, under penalty. It is entirely feasible for a 

 judge to designate a competent person as a referee to examine 

 and decide upon each case. 



Art. 12. A wild creature that cannot be kept in comfort- 

 able captivity should not be kept at all; and the evils to be 

 guarded against are cruelly small quarters, too much darkness, 

 too much light, uncleanliness, bad odors, and bad food. A fish 

 in a glass globe, or a live bird in a cage the size of a collar-box 

 is a case of cruelty. 



Art. 13. Every captive animal that is suffering hopelessly 

 from disease or the infirmities of old age has the right to be 

 painlessly relieved of the burdens of life. 



Art. 14. Every keeper or owner of a captive wild animal 

 who through indolence, forgetfulness or cruelty permits a wild 

 creature in his charge to perish of cold, heat, hunger or thirst 

 because of his negligence, is guilty of a grave misdemeanor, 

 and he should be punished as the evidence and the rights of 

 captive animals demand. 



Art. 15. An animal in captivity has a right to do all the 



