The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-12-13
AGAINST DEER Staying
Protest Against Conditions in Wes-
tern Massachusetts

A we'll known resident of Pittsfield,
Mass, writes to the Journal of that
city relative to the immense slaughter
of deer in Berkshire county under the
present Massachusetts law as fol-
lows:
| During the past month or so more
than $50 deer, both bucks and does,
have been killed in the western part
OF Massachusetts and eastern New
York in the act of destroying crops.
Such are the claims so filed with the
commissioners on Fisheries and
Game. A paragraph in Section II in
| the Massachusetts game laws for the
protection of deer reads:
1T shall be unlawful before the
! first day of November in the year
nineteen hundred and ten to hunt.
pursue, wound or kill a deer, or to
sell or offer for sale or to have in
possession for the purpose of sale, a
deer of the flesh of deer captured
or killed in this commonwealth: pro-
vided that this act shall not apply to
tame deer belonging 70 any person
and kept on his own premises; and
provided. further that any farmer or
other person may pursue on land
owned or occupied by him. wound or
kill with shot gun, but not with a
rifle, any deer which he can prove
was found destroying or injuring any
| fruit tree or any crop except grass
growing on uncultivated land. and he
may authorize any member OF his fam
| lily; or any person employed by him
to pursue, wound or kill deer under
the circumstances above specified.
"Of the $50 or more deer that have
been killed in the act OF destroying
crops probably not more than % of
them were justly killed, the remain
der were killed by sportsmen under
the pretense of killing in the act Of
destroying crops. 1t is getting so
now that any of the average sports
men can have a little talk with his
farmer friends and go out for an af-
ternoon deer hunt within ten miles or
so of the city and secure a fine deer
without going to the expense of or
/ ganizing a hunting trip to the Maine
woods or elsewhere. In the law il is
I required that the deer has to be kill
/ ed with shot gun and not with a ri
/ ifs, A snot gun at the close range to
which one can approach our almost
tame deer is most deadly weapon as
almost the poorest shot cannot fail to
/ hit the deer A rifle is used in the
Maine woods because game there is
very wild and long distance shots
must be made. While here you can
get within a few rods of the deer,
then riddle him with buck shot You
can almost close your eyes and shoot.
After the deer is shot notice must
| be sent to the nearest game warden
who views the body of the dead deer
pronounces him dead, then the slayer
can dispose of the head hide and
flesh as he sees best, provided that
he does not sell.
1T is required by law that the
names of the slayer of the deer be
sent to the chairman or one of the
members of the commissioners on
| fisheries and game and also the time
of killing, sex of deer and state the
crop that was being destroyed. G.. w.
Field of Boston the chairman of this
committee now has a list of those
names in his possession. Among tLat
list would probably be found the
names of a few sportsman" farmers
IN this city.
There is no check on the way the
deer are being killed and the matter
should be looked into by someone who
has the power to stop such unsports-
manlike ways of hunting under false
pretenses.
1t is surprising that so many men
in this city who are called sportsmen
should stoop to an act of this kind
and yet the acts are apparent ant
more than dozen could be pointed
out at the present time"