86 



THE GAME BREEDER 



and cheap in all of the markets of the world 

 excepting America? 



The birds are bred on preserves, the would- 

 be law makers answer, when we ask this 

 question. This is not true. The migratory 

 fowl, the pochard, which corresponds to our 

 red-head and canvasback. The widgeon, which 

 is much like our widgeon, the teal very like 

 our teal and other migratory ducks, which 

 are marketed are not bred on preserves. The 

 wild duck bred on preserves abroad is the 

 mallard, or to a large extent a stock duck des- 

 cended from the mallard and this bird is rapid- 

 ly becoming abundant in the hands of breeders 

 in America. We would like to know why it is 

 necessary to turn over to a band of game-law 

 enthusiasts the right to make numerous crim- 

 inal laws or regulations about the wild food 

 birds and also to execute these laws, with 

 the powers of United States marshals. We 

 would like to know why it is necessary to 

 do this in America where the migratory wild 

 ducks now are more abundant than they are 

 in England and why the migratory birds can 

 be sold cheaply in the English markets and 

 the American people must be denied this de- 

 sirable food? Ho.w would it do to amend the 

 law and make it apply to the migratory fish 

 which are taken in nets both in America and 

 abroad ? 



Granting that the game law enthusiasts who, 

 we are informed, are fabulously well paid 

 for their enthusiasm, are very desirous of 

 taking over the crime-making power of Con- 

 gress so that they can tell the people just 

 what they can do and arrest and jail them 

 with the powers of marshals, we believe good 

 statesmanship should result in Congress re- 

 fusing the demands until the whole matter 

 has been fully investigated both from a legal 

 viewpoint and from the viewpoint of able 

 naturalists who should be consulted. 



We believe if an amendment should be of- 

 fered defining the proposed crimes and fix- 

 ing the penalties so that the law will be a 

 proper criminal statute, uniform, universal, 

 simple, easily found and understood, in a 

 word, a criminal act such as a lawyer would 

 write and to be executed by the regular of- 

 ficers who execute other laws, — We believe 

 if such an amendment be offered, an African 

 will be disclosed in the woodpile. 



It will be a great disappointment,, we are 

 sure, to the inventors of the new style legis- 

 lation not to have both the right to make, but 

 also the right to execute criminal laws which 

 may suit their fancy. These people recently, 

 when we legally procured breeding stock in 

 Mexico, said you can not bring those birds 

 into this country to produce food.. We have 

 the right to issue permits and we wont issue 

 any until the next breeding season. No one 

 who knows anything about wild birds would 

 disturb them at such a time. They would 

 not lay eggs. The reason why we go to Mex- 

 ico is that laws have been secured preventing 

 our getting stock in the United States. 



The production of game for food under 



licences issued by the state game departments 

 is a very big and growing food producing 

 industry in America. It is popular and profit- 

 able. It is encouraged by state game officers. 

 Millions of food birds and deer now are pro- 

 duced for food. 



Those prominent in asking that the right to 

 make and execute criminal laws be given to 

 them have shown a decided hostility to the 

 breeding of birds for food, birds which the 

 great Audubon lists as highly desirable foods. 

 Very recently an attempt was made to stop 

 food production on Long Island, N. Y., for- 

 tunately without success. Our producers won 

 after a spirited contest. But the animus of 

 the leading spirit of those who wish to be- 

 come legislators, judges and marshals was 

 evident. Attempts to prevent any food pro- 

 duction in other parts of the country recently 

 have required our attention. 



When we asked a leader in the present ef~ 

 fort to secure one more law, if the bill could 

 be amended so as to read that nothing in 

 the act or proposed regulations should be 

 held to apply to birds owned by licensed 

 breeders, we were told that the "game law 

 expert" would be consulted. Later, we were 

 informed that no such amendment would be 

 entertained. 



As we understand the bill it in effect cre- 

 ates a third house of Congress with greater 

 powers than the House or Senate ; with power 

 not only to make numerous criminal laws, but 

 also with power to execute the laws or regu- 

 lations when made. Already there is in exist- 

 ence a new legislative body created under a 

 prior act which was of such doubtful con- 

 stitutionality that it was deemd to be nec- 

 essary to get a treaty with Canada in order 

 to try a new law based on the treaty. The 

 obligations of the treaty easily can be car- 

 ried out by a simple enactment prohibiting 

 the killing of migratory song birds, except 

 when found injurious to crops, and prohibit- 

 ing the killing of migratory food birds dur- 

 ing a season, named in the act, and defin- 

 ing the penalties. 



It is not necessary or desirable, especially 

 at this time, to turn over to those who be- 

 lieve in extraordinary restrictions the right 

 to make laws and to change them often. 



It has been claimed that the wild ducks 

 have become very abundant. They have. This 

 is largely due to state laws prohibiting shoot- 

 ing during the breeding season, but it is espe- 

 cially due to the fact that thousands of Can- 

 adian sportsmen have been shooting larger 

 game than ducks. We believe that no harm 

 will follow permits to take hundreds of wild 

 ducks for breeding purposes. We believe it 

 would be safe to permit the sale of ducks 

 legally taken in states which now permit 

 such sales of food. If England and the 

 other countries with a much larger popula- 

 tion, in proportion to their wild duck area 

 than America has can have wild ducks cheap 

 in the markets, just as we have fish and 

 oysters cheap in our markets, it would seem 



