138 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



any trap put on a tree or in an elevated position. It 

 now reads 



(1) From and after the passing of this Act, every 

 person who on any pole, tree, or cairn of earth or stones, 

 shall affix, place, or set, any spring trap, gin, or other 

 similar instrument calculated to inflict bodily injury to 

 any wild bird coming in contact therewith, and every 

 person who shall knowingly permit or suffer, or cause 

 any such trap to be so affixed, placed, or set, shall be 

 guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on summary 

 conviction to a penalty not exceeding 405., and for a 

 second or subsequent offence to a penalty not exceed- 

 ing $. 



(2) Every offence under this Act may be prosecuted 

 under the provisions of sect. 5 of the Wild Birds Pro- 

 tection Act, 1880; and 



(3) This Act may be cited as the Wild Birds Pro- 

 tection Act, 1904, and shall be construed with the Wild 

 Birds Protection Acts, 1880 to 1902. 



This pseudo-humanitarian sentiment has for its 

 object the prevention of cruelty. No one will deny that 

 trapping in any shape is cruel, but a modern pole-trap 

 is more exempt from the charge of cruelty than any 

 other form of gin or snare. Mr. C. M. Pelham Burn, 

 the inventor of the humane pole-trap, used it with great 

 success on his moors in Moray shire. It differs from 

 the ordinary pole-trap in that the jaws strike high and 

 catch the bird by the middle, so causing instant death. 

 The Bill in question has, however, now become law, 



