STATE GAME AND FISH WARDEN. 9 



ing is partially justified on account of the present law govern- 

 ing costs in prosecutions of game law violations. 



As the statutes now exist, if a defendant is found guilty o£ 

 a violation of a game law and pays a fine the fish and game 

 fund derives the benefit, as the amount is paid to the State 

 Treasurer for the credit of this fund. If defendant is found 

 guilty and serves a jail sentence, under the present law, the 

 cost of his confinement must be paid by the county in which 

 the crime is committed. If defendant is dicharged after trial, 

 tiie costs again fall on the county. 



The State Fish and Game Department is in the position of 

 having everything to gain by prosecuting defendants and 

 stands to lose nothing, while the respective counties can derive 

 no direct benefit and may lose a large sunl in costs or payment 

 of board for prisoners. Now to remedy this glaring inconsist- 

 ency of our statute, I would recommend the passage of a lav/ 

 providing that payment of costs for board of prisoners found 

 guilty of violations of game laws be paid out of the fish and 

 game fund, and that the same course be pursued in payment 

 of costs of trials of defendants who have been discharged or 

 found not guilty of such violations as charged. 



RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO AMENDMENTS OF 

 PRESENT GAME LAWS. 



I will again respectfully recommend an amendment to our 

 state game law permitting boys under fourteen years to fish 

 without license and also to hunt, when accompanied by parent 

 or guardian. Womien should not be required to procure a 

 license to fish or ihunt in season ; but ail male hunters, irre- 

 spective of- whether hunting for rabbits or other game, should 

 be held rigidly to the required possession of a license. This 

 will do away with the trumped up excuse of the alien laborers, 

 that they are only hunting rabbits, when accosted by a gam.e 

 warden and license demanded. 



I believe an alien gun license law. similar to the one intro- 

 duced by Nelson Story, Jr., in the last legislative session, will 

 be of benefit to the state, not only along the lines of protecting 

 game from illegal killing, but also as a peace measure. 



I would also .recommend that the present limit of three deer 

 per season be reduced to two. and that these two be of the 

 horned variety. There is a diversity of opinion among the 

 sportsmen of Montana as to the season for hunting large game. 



