MEANS OF PREVENTING CRUELTY 275 



faded away through the lapse of time, yet we have 

 our homes, our lawns and parks, and can care for 

 and love the birds the more for past associations. 



Seal hunting is another cruelty which should not 

 be overlooked or passed uncensured. These harm- 

 less animals are slaughtered in March when the 

 baby seals are too young and helpless to get out of 

 the way of the hunters, and when they are depend- 

 ent upon their mother's milk for support. 



"While a large number of the young seals are 

 killed in the absence of their mothers, yet thou- 

 sands of mother seals are slaughtered annually in 

 the absence of their young which are left to suffer 

 and starve to death. Statistics show that there 

 have been about two hundred thousand killed an- 

 nually, and it is feared by those who profit by this 

 slaughter, that the species will soon become ex- 

 terminated. When contemplating this cruel whole- 

 sale slaughter, and the fact that our government 

 encourages it, and receives a large sum of blood- 

 money annually for this gracious privilege, I can 

 only wish that God in His infinite love and mercy, 

 might see fit to call to Himself the soul of the last 

 one. Extermination has been the fate of some of 

 the most noble animals which formerly roamed 



