THE RURAL PROBLEM 101 



damage for which the Act secures him no compensation. 

 The small man suffers even more than the large farmer, 

 because he is less able to take advantage of such modicum of 

 protection as the Ground Game Act affords by employing a 

 rabbit catcher to snare the intruders. 



§ 2. The Abolition of the Game Laws. 



This state of things is intolerable and must be swept 

 away. The remedy often suggested is the abolition of the 

 Game Laws. What does this involve ? 



The laws affect ins game fall naturally into three categories: 



(i) First there arc the laws making a close time for game. 

 There is no suggestion for repealing these, which apply to 

 fish as well as to game ; and where the laws do not apply 

 custom is often strong, as in the case of foxes. 



(ii) Then there are the penal laws, which are very severe 

 on persons who unlawfully take game belonging to other 

 people ; and game includes the eggs of some egg-laying 

 species. As much as fourteen years' penal servitude may be 

 awarded to three or more persons unlawfully entering land 

 armed with any gun, crossbow, or bludgeon for the purpose 

 of taking game. Some such laws must exist if game is to be 

 preserved at alL The essence of the matter is that there is no 

 private property in wild birds and beasts. A robin, or rook, 

 or pigeon, or fox, or rat cannot be stolen — they do not belong 

 to the person on whose land they live ; they are free, and 

 belong, like the lords of creation, to themselves. The hunter 

 who captures them (in a lawful manner, and in some cases 

 outside the close time) becomes the owner. If game is to 

 be preserved at all, therefore, there must be special legisla- 

 tion. In the case of ground game the right to kill cannot, 

 under any law, be disassociated from occupation. In other 

 words, the farmer has the statutory right, out of which he 

 cannot legally contract, to kill ground game. For other game 

 it is the owner of the land who has the right to kill, which he 

 may lease to the occupier or anyone else. Trespass in 

 pursuit of game is made a criminal offence ; trespass at night 

 in parties in pursuit of game is subject to extremely severe 

 penalties ; the unlawful possession of game and the sale of 

 game by unlicensed persons are also punishable. 



