Wild Animals in Confinement. 123 



Of course, settlers object strongly, as a rule, to game 

 destroying their crops and plantations, and no game 

 reserve should be made near settlements, as it is not fair to 

 men who spend money in planting concerns to have their 

 fields devastated by wild animals. 



More especially is this the case when stringent regula- 

 tions disallow a beast to be shot, and no compensation is 

 given for the damage it causes. 



It behoves sportsmen to be open-minded in the matter, 

 and also Governments ; and, after all, there is an abundance 

 of room in the wilder parts of the country where game 

 reserves can be made. It is better that such reserves 

 should not be of too large an area, or it will be impos- 

 sible to supervise them efficiently without going to great 

 expense. 



Game reserves act as feeders for surrounding country 

 that is getting shot out, and this has already been proved 

 in the United States of America ; and they also form 

 nurseries for the supply of specimens to zoological gardens 

 and parks, although personally I think it is a shame to 

 keep wild creatures in such confined quarters, where they 

 only pine and die under the unnatural conditions of their 

 lives, spent generally in a climate that does not suit them. 



It is pitiful to see a beast like a lion confined in a small 

 cage, and gone in the loins with the want of proper 

 exercise and freedom ; and such an act on man's part is 

 infinitely more cruel than shooting game in the country it 

 frequents. Some people may dissent from this view, and 

 yet there are plenty of men who would prefer a quick 

 death to solitary confinement for the term of their natural 

 lives. 



A weak-backed lion or a scraggy rhino, as seen in a zoo, 

 is surely not a better guide as to the shape of the animals 

 than well-stuffed specimens in a museum. 



If people at home wish to know what a certain animal 

 looks like, they have museums in all the large cities, which 

 are open to inspection ; but for a gaping crowd to go to 

 gaze at some decrepit animal behind iron bars is nothing 



