Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-22
CAME PROTECTION.

III InlS otaIe, as Tn many OGnerS, there IS plenty of law, such as it is, for the protection of game and fish, but it is not well enforced. There are several reasons for this. Very few persons think that any moral guilt attaches to violators of game laws. Local authorities pay little attention to the matter for fear of
 endangering their popularity, or for other
 reasons and private persons do not feel that it will pay them to turn informers Hence prosecutions of offenders seldom occur, the
 laws are broken almost with impunity, those
 who break them have the best sport, and
 honest, law-abiding sportsmen feel them
 selves abused.
 The want of better enforcement of the game
 laws has long been felt in New York, and an
 attempt has at last been made to increase their
 efficiency which seems likely to succeed. At
 least, there is no good reason why it should
 not. By law which has been approved by
 Gov Cornell the Governor of the State of New
 Yorkis authorized to appoint eight persons to be known as Game and Fish Protectors,
 whose duty it shall be to enforce the statutes
 for the preservation of moose, wild deer, birds
 and fish, or any other game laws, and to bring
 or cause to be brought actions and proceedings
 in the name of thepeople of the State, to recov-
 CT any penalties or amounts, or to punish any
 parties for the violation of such statutes or laws. These protectors and their successors
 are to hold office for three years from the
 date of their appointment It is provided that the District Attorney of any county of
 the State shall, upon the request of any one
 of such protectors, commence and prosecute to termination, in the name of the people. ac. tions and proceedings against anysperson re- ported to him by such protector to have vio- lated any such statute or laws for the recov. cry of the penalty for violation thereof, or for the punishment of the person vioIat- ing the same. And 1t is also provid. ed that the protectors may without warrant arrest any person violating any of the provisions of any law for the protec- tion of moose, wild deer, birds and fish, and take such person before a justice of the peace, or police justice or magistrate having jurisdiction, who shall proceed without delay to hear, try and determine the matter, and give and enforce judgment according to the allegations and proof. In addition, section of the law says: Any net, pound, or other means and device for taking or captur- ing fish, or whereby they may be taken or captured, set, put, foated, had or maintained in any of the waters of this State in viola tion of any existing or hereafter enacted statutes or laws for the protection of fish, is hereby declared to be and is public hui sance, and may be abated by any citizen of this State and it shall be the duty of each and every protector aforesaid to seize and re- move the same, and the expense of such seizure and removal, and the keeping and storing such net, pound or other means or device aforesaid shall be 8 county charge against the county in which the same shall have been so seized, and shall be paid as other county charges are paid, on the certif- 1 The protectors are to have an annual salary of 350O each, and each is allowed travelling | expenses not to exceed $250
 If the right men are appointed Game and l Fish Protectors by the Governor of New | York, the game laws of that State, which are, l on the whole, just and satisfactory, will full fill their purpose better than they ever have before and the better class of sportsmen will not have so much cause for complaint. And it will not need great many arrests and con victions to put stop to most of the unlaw- full shooting and. fishing. We commend this New York law to the attention of those in this State interested in the better protection of what game and fish we have. Perhaps, however, before any steps towards better of our game laws are taken, it might be well to pay needed attention to the laws themselves And the improvement of those laws should not, in our opinion, be left | entirely to the Legislature. A commission, l rightly made up, would be apt to do better