THE EXTERMINATION OF WILD LIFE 23 



fe chances of serious reduction and ultimate extermina- 

 tion are enormously increased. The second requisite in the 

 conservation of a species of game animal is a realization of 

 the effect that inevitably follows the killing of the most 

 virile males. The sportsman's aim is usually to secure the 

 finest specimen, which usually implies the largest male; in 

 the case of deer this means the best head. If this quest is 

 carried out to excess it may involve the destruction of the 

 most virile animals to an extent that would affect the gen- 

 eral virihty of the local stock of game with the obvious re- 

 sults. The stock would undergo degeneration, and the de- 

 structive effects of natural factors would be correspondingly 

 enhanced. The remedy for this state of affairs is regula- 

 tion as regards the number of males that may be killed, and 

 the maintenance of a virile nucleus by means of protected 

 refuges. The latter remedy will be considered more fully 

 in a later chapter. 



Apart from inadequate protection, which is an avoidable 

 factor in ultimate extermination, great reduction in numbers 

 has been brought about in the case of our wild fowl, such as 

 ducks and geese, by the extension of agriculture in various 

 parts of the country, but particularly in the Prairie Prov- 

 inces. The drainage of swamps and natural breeding-places 

 has been an important factor in the reduction of our supply 

 of wild fowl. And these birds have been gradually pushed 

 further afield from their former breeding-places. The rem- 

 edy for this state of affairs, so far as a remedy can be ap- 

 plied, is the reservation of areas unsuitable for profitable 

 agriculture as refuges and breeding-places to secure as 

 abundant a local supply of birds as possible. 



Inadequate protection of wild fowl during the spring has 

 been one of the chief causes of an avoidable character of the 

 great reduction in the numbers of ducks, geese, and shore- 

 birds. Spring shooting, had it been permitted to continue 

 — by international action, of which I shall speak later, it 



