﻿2 BULLETIN 22, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



With the rapidly growing complexity of regulations — Federal, 

 State, and local — in 50 States and Territories, and the constantly 

 increasing number of persons who hunt, the demand for information 

 concerning game laws is spreading. The problem of how to keep 

 the public informed of the numerous yearly changes taxes the in- 

 genuity of officials, and can be solved only by the fullest cooperation 

 on the part of the press, private associations, and individuals. 



LEGISLATION IN 1913. 



The game legislation of 1913, while large in volume, is not much 

 larger than that of 1911 or 1909, owing to the following causes: Codi- 

 fication bills were enacted in Maine, Oregon, and Vermont ; practically 

 all the changes made in Illinois, Montana, New York, Utah, Wash- 

 ington, and Wyoming were embodied in single bills; and all legisla- 

 tion failed in Georgia, daho, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Carolina, 

 and Texas. 



Legislative sessions were held in 43 States, 8 Canadian Provinces, 

 and Newfoundland. Numerous bills affecting game were under 

 consideration in nearly every State, and regulations for the pro- 

 tection of migratory game and insectivorous birds in the United 

 States and game in Alaska were promulgated by the Department of 

 Agriculture. 



NOVEL OR IMPORTANT PROVISIONS. 



Among the various provisions found in the new laws are several 

 novel features directly affecting the hunter or the conditions under 

 which game may be hunted: 



Ohio and Pennsylvania now require licensees to wear a badge 

 conspicuously exposed, bearing the number of his hunting license. 

 In order to minimize shooting accidents, Manitoba requires hunters 

 to wear a white coat or sweater and cap, and Saskatchewan insists 

 that those who hunt big game must wear a complete outer suit and 

 cap of white. The latter Province has recently made the penalty 

 for accidentally shooting a person a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000, 

 or imprisonment for six months, and suspension of further license 

 privileges for 10 years. To the present list of six States prohibiting 

 the use of silencers — namely, Maine, New Jersey, North Dakota, 

 Washington, Mississippi, and Louisiana — are now added Minnesota 

 and Wyoming. Connecticut has provided that any hunter who 

 shall injure a fence or let down a bar without replacing it shall forfeit 

 his hunting license and the license privilege for two years. Con- 

 necticut, Pennsylvania, and British Columbia require license appli- 

 cants under 16 years "of age to furnish the written consent of parent 

 or guardian. Vermont has a similar restriction for those under 15, 

 and Oregon does not permit children under 14 years old to hunt 

 except on the premises of their parents, relatives, or guardians. 



