The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-05-21
THE LAW IN THE CASE
And the Captive Deer's Release

And the Captive Deer's Release.
 The deer which was captured in the
 water at Morris Cove last March has
 at last been released owing to the per-
 sistence of local sportsmen. It was
 very much talked about at the time of
 capture, March ?, and its subsequent
 history has been eventful. It was first
 se@n in the water and was captured by the Morris boys and others, and by
 them sold to Gillern & Quinn, who planned to build a park for it and keep | It as an attraction to their hotel | About the next day complaint was made to the city attorney on behalf of I the New Haven County Game and Fish
 Protective association, and at the same time some other persons made com
 plaint to Alden Solmens of South Nor
 walk, the secretary of the state com
 mission of fisheries and game, who
 came here to see about it. The city attorney considered himself superseded
 and dropped the case. Then MT. Gill
 Tern brought up as his authority for
 holding the deer the section of the
 general statutes which provides that
 nothing in the chapter shall prevent
 any person from taking any game
 bird or animal therein mentioned for
 the purpose of domestication or propa-
 sation if it be done without commit ting a trespass on the land of another.' MT. Gillern claimed that as the deer was in the water it might legally be taken for domeStication. This was dis nuted and MT. Solmans referred the matter to the attorney general of the state who ruled that nobody had any right to take a wild deer in this state since the passage of the act of 1893, Chapter 73 This ruling was sent to MT. Solmans at once, but owing to a misunderstanding it did not get to Deputy Sheriff Beach, whom MT. Sol- mans had left to take care of the mat ter. At last the sportsmen grew rest less over the delay. and Attorney Charles G. Morris, as secretary of the New Haven County Game and Fish l Protective association, wrote to the at- l torney general, who replied Friday ] saying that he supposed that the mat | ter had been settled six weeks ago, and l the deer liberated, and that under the | statute MT. Gillern or anybody else | who should take or chase wild deer | in any manner would be liable to pay | not less than $100 fine.
 Sheriff Beach went down to Morris | Cove Saturday afternoon and informed MT. Gillern of the situation, finally | calling up Mr. Solmans on the long distance telephone. Then a party went | out to see the animal released, and at last accounts it was seen heading for Totoket mountain at full speed.
 The whole matter had been unsatis- factory to sportsmen until the deer was released Saturday. The reading of the law is clear, and they could not where the delay came from. Apparently now the case is so we'll set led that the next person who chases or disturbs deer in this state will have no excuse that he has any shad- )w of right to it.
 Attorney Morris said last night when t was called to his attention that the leer was supposed to have escaped rom a park in Guilford: "tThe law, con- iders that when an animal which has ,nce been wild or is Of wild nature egains it's freedom, the former owner ooS9 oii titiS to IL uhiSSs' uS PulouSo IL | the slightest delay. If this eer did escape the former owner would ose all ownership within a day or two tt the greatest, probably within few tours, and then the state law prevents Jim or anyone else rataking the deer"
 Under this law, and the protection it ives, we now have quite a number of ,ild deer about, there being ten or a oZen within twenty miles of New Ha- en. and probably four or five times as lany in the state.