The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-11-25
Slaughter ON SEALS.
The Great Loss to Commerce by
Indiscriminate Killing,
THE STARVING OF THE SEAL PUPS.

More Than Twsnty-seven Thousand Lost
Through the Killing of Their Mothers.
Tl,e Money Loss VIII Reach Hundreds
of Thousands of Dollars.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20. - Information
reaches here that the revenue cutter Bear,
the last government vessel to leave Behr-
ing sea, has just brought down some start
ling evidence of the effect Of pelagic seal
ing upon the Alaskan seal herd which fire.
quents the Pribylof or seal islands.
In accordance with the findings Of the
Paris arbitration schooners are now per
mitted to hunt seals in Behring sea, with
spears, in a zone sixty miles around the
various islands, from the 1st of August.
This gives them about five weeks of good
sealing 1t was thought that confning
fishers to spears, and reducing the season
TO practically five or six weeks would stop
the slaughter in Behring sea, and allow
the herd Co recuperate This year not less
than sixty schooners began hunting in
Behring sea Aug. 1, and captured nearly
10000 pelts, about 80 per cent. of which
were from females. This does not show
the full extent of the injury done. The
seal pups tre dependent on their mothers s
| milk for the first four or five months of
| their existence, and without it must suffer
/ starvation.
Acting under instructions of their re-
| spective superiors, both resident treasury
officers and agents of the North American
/ Commercial company made a careful
count Of the dead pups found at the close
of the season, when the sealing schooners
| had left the sea The census was Just
completed when the Bear left and reached
| 1000, and does not include those in the
last stages of starvation The same con
! ditions prevailed last year, but the count
was made with less exactness, on account
of snow. 1t is said that the actual pecun-
iary loss to the United States and the com
mercial world by this needless waste of
animal life would reach hundreds of thou
sands of dollars.
The United States, which has never al
lowed the molestation of breeding grounds
or killing of females on land, made an eff
fort last year to stay the slaughter going
on by limiting the land killing to $1,000
immature males.
/ 1t is questionable if in the face of exist
ing conditions and the reports of treasury
/ officials further restraint will be exercised,
| especially as a request made last January
| by the United States to Great Britain for
| greater protection to the seals has been
practically ignored.
1t was the attempt made by the United
States to stop the barbarity practiced on
the seas by seizing the schooners that sub
jected the government to claims for dam
ages on the part of Canada. These claims,
which were rejected last year by congress,
are again receiving attention from the
state department and the articles of a
convention providing for IA commission to
sit at Victoria are being considered.
1t is believed in congressional circles
that unless treaty, which must be ratified
by two-thirds vote of the senate, confines
the assessment of damages strictly to YES
sells passed upon by the Paris tribunal,
and provides penalty for perjury on the
part of all witnesses called by either gov
ernment, it will suffer the same fate as
did Secretary Gresham's proposition to pay
to Canada 1926, 600 out of hand, despite the
fact that number of the schooners be.
longed to American subjects and nearly
thrce-fourths of the claims are for prospec
tive catches of seals.