22 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



(2) The Minister may limit the number of Hcences to be issued for any 

 area of Crown land. 1947, Amendment." 



The purpose of this amendment was to give a legislative basis to the system 

 of trap-line management wherein the trapping on any one area is carried out by 

 one licensee only. Forms of licence and application were duly established by 

 regulation, and the way was cleared for registering trap-lines on Crown lands 

 in Ontario. 



An essential feature of trap-line management is the adjustment of the take 

 of furs to the actual production. The basis for establishing this has to be a 

 knowledge of the number of animals. For beaver this information is easy to 

 obtain and is required from the trappers on their licence application form. A 

 quota can likewise be fixed in the annual open season. In order to consolidate 

 beaver management, the following section was added to the Act during the 1947 

 Session of the Legislature: 



27 (la) "Beaver skins and pelts shall be sealed or marked by an officer 

 before sale, and no fur dealer or buyer shall have unsealed or unmarked beaver 

 skins or pelts in his possession. 1947, Amendment." 



SerialK' numbered lock seals of the box-car seal t\pe have been provided. 



A close estimate of the number of Trap-line Licences issued during the 

 1947-48 trapping season is 5,215. This includes approximately 2,000 licences 

 issued to Indian trappers on famih^ group trap-lines in the Patricia District 

 and 250 to Indian trappers north of Cochrane. The breakdown by districts is 

 as follows: — 



District Trap-line Licences 



Algonquin 40 



Chapleaii 275 



Cochrane 200+250 Indian 



Fort Frances 125 



Geraldton 100 



Gogama 150 



Kapuskasing 250 



Kenora 275 



Lake Simcoe 25 



North Ba\' 200 



Parry Sound 100 



Port Arthur 300 



Quinte 125 



Sault Ste. Marie 350 



Sioux Lookout 250+2,000 Indian 



Sudbury 200 



2,965 



On the whole the new regulations have worked out very well during the 

 past trapping season and considering the number of licences issued comparatively 

 few complaints have been received. Several minor changes to the regulations 

 were recommended at the recent Specialists and Indian Agents meetings which 

 can be put into effect in time for the next trapping season. 



Co-operation with Wildlife Management Institute 



The Department engaged in a pheasant scheme for Pelee Island in co- 

 operation with the Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, D.C. 



