214 REPORT OF ONTARIO GAME No. 52 



license of |50 on buyers of raw or undresised furs were imposed, a consid- 

 erable revenue would accrue to the government. In previous sections 

 of the report attention has been called to the necessity for improvements 

 both in the service of protection against fire and that of fish and game 

 wardenship, whidh Avould involve considerable expenditures of money. 

 It would seem, then, that as the fur-bearing animals are the creatures 

 of the forests and a natural resource of a kindred nature to game, the 

 revenue derived from this source might well be devoted to the improve- 

 ment of these two ser-vices. It is to be noted, also, that it might well be 

 questioned whether, even with the imposition of the suggested licenses, 

 the public would be receiving adequate compenisation for the exploita- 

 tion of the fur-bearing animals. By the introduction of the license 

 system, however, the way would at least be prepared for raising a greater 

 revenue from this source should such be desired in the future, for sta- 

 tistics would be available on which to form an estimate of the average 

 profit to the trappers and dealers, and the system of recording catches 

 and sales would be in force which would greatly simplify the collection 

 of a tax on pelts should such ever come to be imposed. 



In connection with the law as it stands at present one point 

 merits consideration. A permit, for which no charge is made, ha® to 

 be obtained, not later than within ten days of the close of an open 

 season, to entitle the trapper to be in legal possesisiion of furs. In the 

 case of mink and. muskrat tilie open season extendis from December 1 to 

 April 30, inclusive, and men are engaged in the capture of these animals 

 until the last day of the legal open season. In some portions of the 

 Province trapping is carried on at a distance from civilization and it is 

 a practical impossibility for the trapper to get out from his grounds 

 with his furs w^ithin the specified time for securing a permit owing to 

 the faict that while the ice at this period is dangerous for travelling, it 

 frequently does not disappear from inland waters until nearly June 

 sufficiently to allow of canoeing. Consequently, either the trapper must 

 abandon his occupation some weeks prior to the close of the oipen season 

 in order to get his permit in sufficient time, or else he becomes liable to 

 fine and the confiscation of his pelts. While no general relaxation of the 

 law is in the least desirable, it would seem that in certain regions magis- 

 trates might be empowered to use their discretion in the matter, pro- 

 vided the trapper could show that he had left his grounds at the earliest 

 possible date after the close of the open season. In this connection it 

 may be observed that under the license system previously suggested the 

 returns from the buyei^ should be required to be posted to the Depart- 

 ment within ten days of the close of the open seasons, and that it should 

 only be possible for them to purchase the furs of trappers who could 

 not get in from their grounds within this period by obtaining a permit 

 to do so from the proper authority, and that the trapper, so situated, 

 should be required to make affidavit that his furs had been taken within 

 the legal open season and to secure a permit to authorize him to keep his 



