ANNUAL REPORT, 1937-38 15 



GENERAL 



GAME & FISHERIES ACT. 



The Game and Fisheries Laws are an important part of the Department's pro- 

 gramme to properly conserve the heritage with which it is entrusted. They are 

 not merely regulatory or restrictive but are, in reality, the controlling factors 

 which determine the abundance or otherwise of our wild life resources. They are 

 the result of biological knowledge and practical experience, and have been framed 

 with due regard to the life history of the various species, particularly that phase 

 of it which determines perpetuation. These laws have many classifications but in 

 general they are intended to develop all classes of desirable wild life while per- 

 mitting the greatest possible use of these resources, and to discourage certain 

 undesirable forms which do not fit into the economic scheme of things. 



A study of the laws and regulations will convince the most skeptical that they 

 are an important part of the programme necessary for the conservation of our 

 fish and game resources and that when the public is urged to observe the laws it is 

 a request for co-operation in the management of a valuable trust. Non-observance 

 of the regulations, however unimportant the details may seem, is unfair to that 

 ever-increasing family of sportsmen and nature lovers who conscientiously obey the 

 laws and pursue their recreational pleasures from the highest standard of sports- 

 manship. 



Amendments enacted by the Legislative Assembly and which became effective 

 during the year included the following provisions: — 



(a) Open season and other regulations governing the hunting of 

 woodcock, snipe, ducks, geese and other migratory water-fowl 

 to be as provided by the Migratory Birds Convention Act 

 (Canada). 



(b) Parties of non-resident hunters to engage licensed guides 

 when hunting moose. 



(c) Non-resident bear hunting license for the months of April and 

 May at a fee of $5.25. 



(d) Adjustment of royalties on the pelts of certain fur-bearing 

 animals, — lynx, mink, otter and skunk. Ranch raised cross 

 fox exempted from royalty. 



(e) Taking of does and fawns permitted in the proportion of one 

 doe or fawn for each two hunters in the party. 



(f ) Use of snares prohibited in Peel and Carleton Counties. 



(g) Permitting use of an automatic shot gun when so permanently 

 reconstructed and plugged as to be capable of holding not 

 more than two shells at any one time. 



Amendments to the Fisheries Regulations adopted during the year included 

 the following provisions: — 



(a) Minor changes in the open seasons for pickerel, lake trout and 

 whitefish in certain northern districts. 



(b) Persons engaging licensed guides while angling not to include 

 such guide as one of their number when computing the num- 

 ber or quantity of fish they are entitled to take. 



(c) Exportation of maskinonge by non-resident anglers restricted 

 to one day's catch. 



TOURIST OUTFITTERS. 



Complete reference to the system of licensing tourist outfitters operating in 

 the northern portion of the Province was embodied in the previous Annual Report. 

 The following analysis shows the distribution by Districts of the 498 camps which 

 were licensed to operate during the year under review: — 



