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OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN AUDUBON SOCIETIES 
One Year 25 Cents LEGISLATIVE NUMBER Single Copy 5 Cents 
Published by the Wisconsin Audubon Society at Madison, Wisconsin 
Entered as second class matter August 23, 1909, at Madison, Wis., under the act of Congress of March 3, 1879 
VOL. XIV 
JANUARY, 1912 
NO. 5 
SPRING SHOOTING 
That the supply of birds has been 
materially reduced in the last century 
is a fact which is admitted by all im¬ 
partial persons who have any know¬ 
ledge of the facts. Nor are the true 
causes far to seek, and these too are 
recognized by all who have no interest 
in a perversion of them. The general 
statement of the case is embodied in the 
two words, changed conditions, and to 
this all will agree. And indeed there 
is well nigh universal agreement as to 
the factors which make up this change, 
it is only in the matter of their relative 
importance that disagreement is met 
with. 
All factors may be grouped under 
two heads, — the presecution of the 
birds themselves, and the destruction of 
the breeding and feeding grounds. The 
latter is in a measure unavoidable. The 
clearing of land and the contamination 
of streams and ponds attendant there¬ 
on, the building of cities and the tilling 
of the soil are all factors disturbing 
to the native birds and are steps neces¬ 
sary to the advance of civilization. 
Yet this is not the most serious prob¬ 
lem to be dealt with, for the mere 
presence of human beings is not in 
itself obnoxious to bird life, and hence 
the effects of these factors can in a 
considerable measure be counterbal¬ 
anced. (See article, “The Sanctu¬ 
ary. 7 ’—page 36.) 
It is the effects of the persecution of 
the birds themselves that cause: the 
most trouble, for a bird once killed 
cannot be brought to life again, and a 
species once extinct is banished for¬ 
ever from the face of the earth. This 
same persecution, moreover, is always 
wanton, the outcome either of a desire 
to kill, or of greed, or of a short¬ 
sighted policy. In the case of the hun¬ 
ter, his desire to kill or his short¬ 
sightedness, or both, manifest them¬ 
selves in several typical demands he 
makes of the legislators. Most pernic¬ 
ious of these, because many people are 
inclined to grant it, is his demand for 
spring shooting. 
Of all the seasons in which shooting 
can be done, this is the worst. To kill 
and molest birds just before and dur¬ 
ing the breeding season is not only to 
kill the parent but to destroy the prog¬ 
eny as well. For although by no 
means all of the birds may be killed 
off in any one season, yet mates may 
be separated and bird homes thus 
broken up, and when this does not 
happen, the survivors are often so 
harassed that they cannot give proper 
