38 AMERICAN DIPLOMATIC QUESTIONS 



The right of property in animals ferce natures ordinarily 

 held or capable of acquisition by individuals or communities 

 was discussed at great length in an exhaustive argument by 

 Mr. Carter who endeavored to demonstrate the rightful Ameri- 

 can ownership of the seals. On this question, he urged: 

 "The United States hold that the ownership of the islands 

 upon which the seals breed; that the habit of the seals in 

 regularly resorting thereto and rearing their young thereon ; 

 that their going out in search of food and regularly returning 

 thereto, all the facts and incidents of their relations to the 

 islands, give to the United States a property interest 

 therein. . . ." 



The common and civil law was ransacked for cases to sup- 

 port this claim, and a remarkably ingenious argument was 

 presented. The question was practically a unique one in 

 the field of international law, and no precedent could be 

 quoted either to sustain or defeat the American contention. 

 The common and civil laws recognized two classes of ani- 

 mals, first, those that are domesticated and tame, such as 

 cattle, horses, dogs, etc., and in which man may possess abso- 

 lute ownership; and secondly, those animal,s which wander 

 about at free will and are of a wild disposition, designated as 

 ferce naturce. In this latter class, man might enjoy, under 

 certain conditions, qualified property rights. When such 

 creatures are captured and detained, they become personal 

 property so long as they may be kept in actual possession ; 

 but the moment they escape and gain their liberty, property 

 right in them instantly ceases, unless, indeed, they wander 

 away animo revertendi, an intention according to habit of 

 returning, in which case a certain qualified ownership may 

 still exist. But the exact extent and scope of this property 

 right in animals ferce natural that have left their confines 

 but purpose eventually to return are not altogether clear. 

 The particular and peculiar natures of the many species of 

 animals that may serve man and still be considered under the 

 head of animals ferce naturce, are questions well calculated 

 to confuse jurists and tend to make generalization upon the 

 subject impossible. Thus, the owner of a swarm of bees 



