INTRODUCTION 



seen that the above slaughter is quite within the bounds 

 of possibility. 



Mr. Alfred Clark, in his "Sport in the Low Country 

 of Ceylon," estimates the guns in the hands of the low 

 country jungle villagers at nearly 15,000, so that, as they 

 all shoot, this would only mean an average of about 

 2 J deer per man per year to account for my " slaughter " 

 figures ; but whatever it means, or however wrong may 

 be the figures, I know as a positive fact that the daily 

 slaughter of game is enormous, and will end eventually 

 in putting Ceylon out of the list of game countries. I 

 admit it is almost an impossibility to enforce the present 

 Game Laws in the wild jungle country, but I submit that 

 the stoppage of the trade in the island in all produce of 

 the chase would keep the unlicensed slaughter within 

 reasonable bounds and yet impose no hardship on the 

 villagers, if allowed to kill game for their own use at 

 any time of the year, which, in my opinion, they have 

 a perfect right to do. They must, however, be pro- 

 tected against themselves, or they will, very soon now, 

 ruin one of their principal sources of food supply for 

 ever. 



Owing to persistent representation of this state of 

 things our Government has, of late years, established 

 game sanctuaries in various parts of the country, and is 

 contemplating still more, and in these sanctuaries game 

 increases and flourishes amazingly, but still no steps are 

 taken to prevent the natives carrying on their unlicensed 

 slaughter outside the sanctuaries, which occupy some of 

 the best hunting country in the island, thereby closed to 

 the European sportsman. I maintain that the country 

 as a whole does not benefit by these sanctuaries, but 

 those lucky natives who live or camp near their boun- 



xix 



