The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1893-02-21
DISREGARD OF GAME LAWS.

DISREGARD OF GAME LAWS.
Section l of an Act "to prevent
wanton destruction of game" ap-
proved on the 18th day of October,
1886, reads as follows:
1t shall be unlawful to take, kill
or destroy any migratory wild duck,
plover, snipe, turnstone, curlew, or
and 1st day of October; to take, kill
or destroy any native wild duck,
quails, or pheasant between the lst
day of March and the 1st day of
September; to take, kill or destroy
any wild hen pheasant at any time;
to take, kill or destroy any wild dove,
wild pigeon, or mud-hen between
the 1st day of February and the 1st
day of July; to take, gather or des- |
troy the eggs of any wild duck,
mud-hen, pheasant, dove, pigeon, or
quail at any time; to buy, sell, offer
for sale, transport or have in posses
sion any of said game at any time
when it is unlawful to kill the same.
The penalty for violating the pro-
visions of this law, provided in Sec
ton 2, is fine of not less than ten
dollars, nor more than fifty dollars;
or, in default of payment of such
fine, imprisonment not less than ten
days, nor more than two months.
An Act passed the same session
"to license the carrying of firearms
for hunting purposes" 1t provides
for the licensing for the term of one
year, of any applicant on the pay
ment of license fee of five dollars
to use and carry firearms for hunt
ing purposes on the island of Oahu,
and requires every person so licensed
to "give any information which he
may have of his own knowledge of
the law to prevent wanton destruc-
ton of game, to the Marshal of the
Kingdom, or, in default thereof" to
"forfeit his license"
These laws ought to have proved
an effective preventive against the
wanton and unreasonable destruc-
tion of game. Information has been
furnished to us, however, which
would indicate the prevalence of a
great deal of unlawful killing of
game. 1t is asserted that there is a
considerable class of pot-hunting
f sportsmen, whose members do not
scruple to shoot doves in the breed
ing season and on breeding grounds.
, The dove season closes on February
$ l. Native wild duck end pheasant
are also said to be slaughtered in
the close season. This beginss March
land it behooves the authorities and
all licensed hunters to see that such
violation of law is not repeated this
year.
Men calling themselves sportsmen
v have been known to habitually defy
i the game law, and have yearly shot
!, both pheasant and native teal dur
ing their breeding season, also en-
gagged in wholesale slaughter of
plover before the season had fairly
begun. The indiscriminate shoot
ing of hen pheasants will eventually
bring about scarcity of the birds of
a that breed.
Besides the so-called sportsman
referred to, there is the poacher,
who is making sad depredations on
our game birds throughout the year
- We are told number OF
n this class are committing havoc
= among the birds in Koolau district
right straight along. These people
are not contented with defying the
game laws, but shoot without the
y license required by law.
1t is also evident that there is con-
. siderable ignorance among both ma
h tives and white men throughout the
a islands regarding the game laws
n Sportsmen should combine to raise
= fund for having the laws printed
~ in different languages and posted in
/ conspicuous places at the different
court houses on the islands.
+ If discretion be used by our sports
men, there is no reason why al
I abundance of game cannot be had
I in its season. But unless a stop be
a put to the indiscriminate shooting
{ of birds out of season and against
: > the law, the time will come wher
!, these law-breakers will have proved
more Of curse than the mongoose