lO 



IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



^s a demonstrated fact that the 

 people will not inform and to se- 

 cure a proper enforcement of the 

 law, a game warden is absolutely 

 essential. Section 8 is along the 

 same line and bears especially on 

 the transportation companies and 

 their liabilities before the law. 



"If any railway or express 

 company, or any other common 

 carrier, or any of their agents or 

 servants, knowingly receive any 

 of the above mentioned birds or 

 animals for transportation or 

 other purpose, during the periods 

 hereinbefore mentioned, limited 

 and prohibited, or at any other 

 time except in the manner pro- 

 vided in Section 6 of this act, 

 they shall be punished by a fine 

 of not less than one hundred, nor 

 more than three hundred dollars, 

 or by imprisonment in the county 

 jail for thirty days or by both 

 such fine and imprisonment." 



This section is openly violated 

 by the express companies oper- 

 ating in this state and if we had 

 a game warden whose duty it was 

 to punish all violators of the 

 game laws, he could not but find 

 easily accessible evidence to con- 

 vict and a few such convictions 

 would sensibly lessen the illegal 

 traffic in game, now going on. 



Section 9 provides for the pre- 

 vention of wholesale slaughter by 



the use of the swivel gun. 



If any person shall shoot or 

 kill any wild duck, goose, or 

 brant, with any swivel gun, or 

 any kind of gun except such as is 

 commonly shot from the shoulder 

 or shall use medicated or poison- 

 ed food to capture or kill any 

 birds in this act, he shall be 

 deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, 

 and upon conviction shall be 

 fined twenty-five dollars for each 

 offense and shall stand commit- 

 ted to the county jail for thirty 

 days, unless such fine and costs 

 of prosecution are sooner paid." 



There is very little violation of 

 this law now, though I have seen 

 8 guage guns used, throwing i| 

 oz. of shot and shot and which 

 were nearly as destructive as the 

 old swivel gun. 



Sections 10 and 11 are with re- 

 gard to bringing action for viola- 

 tion of the game laws. 



Section 10: "Prosecutions for 

 the violation of this act may be 

 brought either in the county in 

 which the offense was commit- 

 ted, or in any other county where 

 the person, company or corpora- 

 tion complained of has had or has 

 in his or their possession any 

 birds or animals herein named, 

 bought, sold, killed, trapped or 

 ensnared, in violation of any of 

 the provisions of this act." 



