Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1895-03-08
Deer Poaching in Vermont.

When the Vermont Legislature at its
recent session was considering the pas
sage of law providing for short open
season for the killing of deer it was urged
mat even brief period of indiscriminate
slaughter might result disastrously, and
the project was accordingly defeated.
Now the Essex County HERALD has re-
ceived information to the effect that
parties from New Hampshire have, at
different times come into this State, nm
der cover of darkness, and have gone
back INTO our forests, following the log
ging roads up the Willard streams and
elsewhere, and hunted and killed our
deer when they were to be found, and
the next ght returned home with their
booty"
This statement by itself alone would
seem to be very simple, and one
requiring nothing more than stricter
enforcement of the law for the protection
of deer. But the correspondent of the
HERALD does not stop there. 1t is urged
that many deer are killed in this way and
the correspondent argues as follows: "It
our laws could be amended so as to al
low deer to be killed in this State during
the months of October and November,
there would be no more deer killed than
under the present law, and the law-abid-
ing citizens could secure some of the deer
as well as outsiders, who have no regard
for our laws and can evade them with
impunity."
There are various Vermont statutes
including the road law, as well as that
relating to the protection of deer, which
seem to work injustice to certain classes,
both rich and poor, but this is nevitab Bile
We do not doubt that, il our friends i'll
northeastern Vermont have patience,
they will be abundantly rewarded with
open seasons for deer in the near future.
In the meantime they should enforce the
law against New Hampshire poachers as
well as against themselves. We should
say to them, if you see a neighboring
deer hunter i'll Vermont; trap him on the
spot; bag him; do anything legitimate
to teach him nimrods etiquette and
respect for Verlnont's laws and your wn
rights. How long will the men of Essex
County allow the Granite State poacIers
TO jerk venison from under their very
eyes, or at least from the place where
their eyes ought to be!
The above we take from a re-
cent issue of the Burlington Daily
Free Press. In commenting upon
the communication of our Lem
ington correspondent, to which
it refers, we said we presumed
that the DIRECTORS to an open
season in this county would say
let the laws be better enforced.
We illustrated how this was no
answer to the friends of an open
season, and have no occasion to
repeat it here.
The Free Press asks:
"IIow long will the men of Essex
county allow the Granite State poachers
to jerk venson from under their very
eyes, or at least from the place where
their eyes ought to be-"
We answer just so long as pc
culiar opportunities for obtain
ing deer in this county are given
to foreigners, and just so long as
the law permits them to reach in
and unlawfully take those ami.
mails which are raised at the ex.
pense of our own people and q
reasonable number of which can
not be taken practically with i'm
punity by those who raised them
but can be by undeserving strang
ers. Laws which practically give
benefits to vicious strangers and
rob our own people of areasona
bic use of what they contribute
to support and produce cannot
be said to be practically benefi
cial or just.