SWITZERLAND 



By dr. EUGENE PITARD 



I.— SHOOTING 

 T N the course of the present century more than one species of 

 -*■ animal has disappeared from Switzerland. Mention may be 

 made of the beaver, by no means very rare in the land _.. 

 in bygone centuries, the wolf and the ibex. Nor are ance of 

 such disappearances remarkable when we consider the ^ 

 increase of roads, the railways that even climb the mountain slopes, 

 the invasion of Alpine regions by the people, the parcelling out of 

 lands, the levelling of forests, the ever-increasing spread of cultivation. 

 To these causes of the extinction of several species must in fairness 

 be added the liberties of the chase in Switzerland, where, with the 

 mild restriction of taking out a licence, everyone is free. 



Few indeed are the estates privately preserved. The system 

 of preservation has been fully discussed in many of the cantons, 

 but invariably negatived. The fact is democratic governments do 

 not present auspicious conditions for the maintenance of game. 

 On the other hand, most laudable efforts for protecting the game 

 and restocking certain districts have for the last thirty years been 

 made in Switzerland by the Confederation, by the cantons, by the 

 sporting associations, by the Alpine Club and by private individuals. 



335 



