Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-04-28
Measure That viii Save Lives Of
Pigeons, Rabbits, Stays
And Foxes.
DECADENCE OF THE PASTIME.
To Stop SportsmaDship That Dcprives
Hunted Creatures OF Fair
Chance 10 Get Away.
Special Correspondence.

SpeclAl correspondence.
r ONDON. April is-if there is one
thing more than another on which
Englishmen pride themselves II n
that they are thorough sportsmen.
But according to II. c. +. Luttrell, q
member Of parliament for a Devonshire
division much of the sport TO which
they are devoted is sheer cruelty, ut
tery devoid Of every element of fair
play, and should be suppressed. To ac-
complish this purpose, he has intro
duced a bill in the house Of commons
which Is backed by the Humanitarian
league and Is supported by many infu-
entla persons including number Of
sportsmen Of the genuine, old fashioned
type. Should the bill pass. IL win wipe
out pigeon shooting. put stop to hare
and rabbit coursng. as now conducted
in the great majority OF cases. and pre-
vent those debased forms of sport So
popular I'm aristocratic circles the hunt
ing Of the csrted stag and the bagged
fox.
SPURIOUS SPORTS BILL.
my BILL" said Mr., Luttrell, is al.
visedly called the spurious sports bill.
With genuine forms of sport. In which
the Wild creatures hunted are given a
fair chance, II does not interfere. II
aims AZ tho abolition OF certain kinds
Of miscalled sport In which the animals
hunted, though nominally wild. are, in
fact, kept IN confinement and released
for the purpose Of being hunted, coursed
or shot Under such conditions they
don't get a fair chance. The laws re-
latinS to cruelty to animals impose Sc
we're penalties for the abuse of Wild ami
mails while kept In confinement. But
when terrified and half dazed their
physical powers much reduced by the
captivity to which they have been SUBJ
| jected they are set free TO be hunted.
| they may be tortured, mangled and
| done TO death IN the most cruel fashion
| with immunity. The instinct OF true
| British craftsmanship should sufftce
| to afford them protection under such
| circumstances. But In these modern
| days II doesn't. Hence the necessity
| for my bill 1t would apply In all
| cases where the bird or beast has been
| released within one month before the
hunting. coursing or shooting takes
| place. Violation OF the law is TO b.
| punished by penalty of $50 Sl0o), or
| imprisonment not exceeding three
| months"
FORM is DEBASED.
| The debased forms Of sport whose
| suppression Is aimed at are, Fortunate
| ~, so little known IN most parts OF
, America. that description of them
| should be OF interest to American read.
ers. Pigeon shooting matches. though
no longer tolerated by the Nottingham
| club, are still common all over the
| country. They are largely patronized
by second and third rate sportsmen:
saloon keepers are the chief organizers
of these events. and they offer. as
rule, money prizes IN order to attract
competitors from different parts OF tho
| country. who freely patronage the bar.
Women are generally absent from such
| matches, except the fashionable society
contests, which they attend In largo
numhers--an exception which is hardly
Hatterlng 10 feminine swelldom.
LOT ONE OF MISERY.
From first to last, the lot of tho
pigeons Is one OF misery. The man who
undertakes to provide the birds-per-
haps two or three hundred for a single
| match-colects them over night and
Grams them into crates far too small
for the number they are made to con-
tain Pressed tight together, with no
food or water. they are kept for hours.
| and then carted away without any care
or consideration, 10 the appointed field
| OF carnage: one by one they are liner
! ated nom the crates, only TO be crushed