11. ABSTRACTS OF LAWS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO 

 SHIPMENT AND SALE. 



FEDERAL LAWS. 



Federal game laws consist of statutes regulating interstate commerce 

 in game, the importation of game from foreign countries, and pro- 

 visions for the protection of game on territory under the jurisdiction 

 of the United States. They comprise (1) the Lacey Act, regulating 

 the importation of game and its shipment from one State to another; (^) 

 tariff regulations governing animals and birds imported from abroad; 

 (3) game laws of the District of Columbia, Alaska, and the Indian 

 Territor}^; (4) provisions for protecting game in the national parks, ^ 

 forest reserves, and other Government reservations. These acts of 

 Congress are supplemented by regulations issued by the Secretaries of 

 the Treasur}^ War, Interior, and Agriculture, relating chiefly to the 

 protection of Government reservations and the details of importing 

 foreign animals and birds. ^ 



The territor}^ protected by Federal statutes comprises more than 20 

 percent of the total area of th6 United States, and, besides the District 

 of Columbia, the Indian Territory, and Alaska, is made up of reserva- 

 tions and parks ranging in size from a few acres to the great areas 

 covered b}" the Indian reservations in Montana and South Dakota, 

 which occup}^ a large part of those States. This vast domain is very 

 unevenly protected. The District of Columbia, with an area of about 

 70 square miles, has a fairl}^ complete and satisfactor}^ game law, and, 

 with the exception of Alexandria County, Va., is the smallest area in 



^ The national parks, now 12 in number, have all been established during the last 

 thirty years. They may be grouped as follows: Five parks proper — Yellowstone, 

 Wyo., 1872, 2,142,720 acres; Yosemite, Cal., 1890, 967,680 acres; Sequoia, Cal., 1890, 

 160,000 acres; General Grant, Cal., 1890, 2,560 acres; Mount Eainier, Wash., 1899, 

 207,360 acres: five military parks — Chickamauga, Ga., 1890, 6,195 acres; Shiloh, 

 Tenn., 1894, 3,000 acres; Vicksburg, Miss., 1899, 1,233 acres; Gettysburg, Pa., 1895, 

 877 acres; Antietam, Md., 1890, 43 acres: the Hot Springs Reserve, Ark., 1880, 912 

 acres, and the Casa Grande Ruins, Ariz., 1892, part of 480 acres. The first five only 

 are of special interest from the standpoint of game protection. 



'^ The regulations of the Department of Agriculture may be found in Circular 29 of 

 the Biological Survey, entitled 'Protection and importation of birds under act of 

 Congress approved May 25, 1900,' and Circular 30, entitled ' Wild animals and birds 

 which may be imported without permits.' 



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