Page 304 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

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282 OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
Kentucky :
Nearly everything that a state should maintain in the line of wild life protectionKentuckylacks! Itiseasiertotellwhatshehasthantorecite what she should have. Kentucky permits spring shooting; she has no bag limits, and she has long open seasons on everything save introduced pheasants; She protects from sale only quail, grouse and wild turkey killedwithinherownborders. Thismeansthathermarketsarepractically wide open.
Until recently the people of Kentucky have been very indifferent to the value of her wild-life ; but with the new law enacted this year providing for a game commission and a game protection fund, surely every member of the Army of the Defense will wish God-speed to her efforts in game conservation, and stand ready to lend a helping hand whenever help can be utilized.
Kentucky should at one grand coup stop spring shooting and all sale of wild game, accord long close seasons to all species that are verging on extinction, protect doves, establish moderate bag limits and stop the use of machine guns. If she takes up these measures at the rate of only one at each legislative session, by the time her laws are perfect all her game will be gone!
Louisiana:
On more counts than one, Louisiana is in the list of Great Delin- quents ; for behold the things that she needs to do
Protect deer for five years.
Instantly take the robin, red-winged black-bird, dove, grosbeak, wood-duck and gull oflf the list of birds that may be killed as "game."
Stop all late winter and spring shooting.
Stop the sale of all native game, and the possession and transportation of game sold or intended for sale. In short.
Enact a Bayne law.
Re-establish a game warden system.
In legally permitting the slaughter of the robin, red-winged black- bird, dove, grosbeak, wood-duck and gull the state of Louisiana is very culpable.
For good reasons, forty states of the American Union strictly prohibit the killing of song and insectivorous birds. The duty of every state to protect those birds is not a debatable proposition. I put this question to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and other states where the robin is treated as a game bird : Is it fair of you to kill and eat robins when that species is carefully protected by forty other states of our country for grave economic reasons? What would you say of the people of the North if they slaughtered your mocking- bird to eat!
Remember this proportion:
The Robin : The North : : The Mockingbird : The South.