36 



DIGEST OF GAME LAWS FOE 1901. 



Big game. — The big game of the United States is rapidh^ disap- 

 pearing. Buffalo are almost, extinct; elk, moose, caribou, antelope, 

 mountain sheep, and mountain goats are now found in only a few 

 States, and deer are rare in many places where they should be com- 

 mon. To such an extent has this decrease advanced that vigorous 

 measures are now necessary to prevent absolute extermination of sev- 

 eral of the species, and, with the exception of deer, big game has been 

 ver}^ generalh^ accorded protection for several 3'ears to come. To this 

 end legislation has been enacted prohibiting slaughter for hides, mate- 

 rialh" shortening open seasons, limiting the number of individuals 

 which may be killed, forbidding sale and shipment at all times, and 

 prohibiting shooting indefiniteh' or for a term of 3^ears. 



The effect of such measures is well shown in the case of deer in Ver- 

 mont. One hundred years ago deer were common, but seventy-live 

 years of lax protection nearly exterminated them in the central and 

 southern parts of the State. A continuous close season was then estab- 

 lished, which remained in force until 1896. In that 3^ear an open sea- 

 son for the month of October was provided, which in 1898 was reduced 

 to the last ten da^^s of October. Fostered by these and other strin- 

 gent protective laws, deer have increased during the last quarter of a 

 century until at present they have become abundant, and complaints 

 are sometimes made of the damage which they cause to crops. ^ 



During the present 3^ear all big-game hunting has been prohibited 

 in Nevada, New Hampshire, and New Mexico; close seasons for 

 deer have been established or extended in Connecticut, Indiana, and 

 Illinois; elk have been protected for a term of 3^ears in Michigan, 

 Minnesota, and Nebraska; antelope in Arizona, Montana, and South 

 Dakota, and moose and caribou in Montana. As shown in the follow- 

 ing table, 28 States and 1 Provinces now prohibit killing of all or 

 certain kinds of big game: 



Big Game protected for a term of years. 



states. 



Deer. 



Elk. 



Moose. Caribou. 



Antelope. 



Mountain 

 sheep. 



Maine 









To Oct. 15, 



1905. 

 Indefinitely. 

 Tndpfinitely- 







New Hampshire.. 



Indefinitely. 



Indefinitely. 



Indefinitely. 

 Indefinitely. 











Massachusetts. 



To Nov. 1, 



1903. 

 To Feb. 1, 



1905. 

 To June 1, 



1911. 











Rhode Island 













Connecticut 













New York 



Indefinitely. 



Indefinitely. 



Indefinitely. 



Indefinitely. 





New Jersey 



Indefinitely. 





Michigan . 



To 1911 



To 1911 



To 1911 







Indiana Indefinitely. 









Illinois To Mav 10, 













1 1906. 

 Minnesota ; 



Indefinitely. 

 Indefinitely. 

 Indefinitely. 











Iowa i Indefinitftlv. 











Nebraska 













^See Titcomb, Shooting and Fishing, Vol. XXX, p. 289, July 25, 1901. 



