18 



to Herons' nests which was obviously untrue. Nevertheless 

 the Society wrote to the British representatives in the country 

 concerned and published their replies in full. The proceeding 

 of the trade in quoting a short extract from this evidence and 

 suppressing the rest needs no comment. 



Venezuela. 



Mr Downham says : 



" The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has published, with one 

 exception, nothing more than empty contradictions from people who have 

 no experience or knowledge of the particular country or the conditions 

 under which the feathers are collected. . . The one exception, confirming 

 the evidence obtained by the trade, is contained in a letter from H.B.M. 

 Minister in Venezuela, under date of January 14th, 1909, directed to the 

 R.S.P.B., and although it does not fully agree with all that has been 

 published by the trade on the subject, it is undoubtedly a report which 

 has been issued only after very careful investigations." " The Feather 

 Trade," p. 30. 



H.B.M. Minister's Statement. 



One portion of this Report which " does not fully agree with 

 all that has been published by the trade," is His Majesty's 

 Minister's verdict upon the evidence furnished to him, and by 

 him to the Society : 



" From the evidence before me I have no manner of doubt 

 that the vast majority of the Egret plumes exported to 

 Europe are obtained by the slaughter of the birds during or 

 about the breeding season, and that no effective regulations 

 exist or indeed, owing to local conditions, can exist for the 

 control of this slaughter, and that the letter of Mr. Leon 

 Laglaize, of July 29th, 1908, gives a completely erroneous 

 impression of the conditions under which the industry of 

 collecting the plumes is conducted in Venezuela." 

 Other letters received by the Society are given on page 52 

 and onwards. 



Bird-Skins and Wings. 



The plumes of the Egrets and Herons form but a fraction, 

 though a significant fraction, of the whole trade. With regard 

 to the thousands of birds whose skins and wings are brought 



