Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-07
POACHERS' SHARES.
How the Game Preserves of England
Are Protected.
From Harper's Weekly.

From Harper's Weekly.
Though the private game preserves il
the United States are rapidly increasing in
number and game brings high price II
the market, 1t will probably be some time
before poachers become such a serious
problem as they are in England, where
uoaching is a very ancient II not honor
able occupation and where a constant
warfare. more or less serious In results,
is maintained between these gentry and
the gamekeepers.
The signs sometimes seen on the fringe
of English woods, Beware Of man traps
and spring guns!" may brighten the HARM
less cockney out on a Sunday. but the
professional poacher knows that man
traps and spring guns are prohibited by
law. He has to be on the watch, how
ever. for traps which will at least give
him a bad fall or a ducking. A fence
which he is climbing and has climbed
many times before may give way with a
crash, or a plank laid conveniently across
a ditch or stream may have been sawed
almost through. A fine but strong wire
stretched across a path about eighteen
inches from the ground is serious dam
ger for the poacher, as he may stumble
over it and get bad fall. or, worse still,
his dog may encounter 1t when running
at full speed and be cut almost in two.
ly harmless, and the most effective way
Of putting an end to poaching is to kill
or injure the intelligent beast.
Sometimes a trap is set for the dog
which is not intended to injure him, but
which will give an alarm. A loaded gun
is put in a field where hares feed, and a
number of strings fastened to the trigger
are led in various directions and secured
to pegs. In driving the hares the dog Is
almost certain to encounter one OF the
strings, discharge the gun and put the
keepers on the alert.
When a keeper finds a number OF
snares set he will put dead hare or rab-
bit In one. scratch up the ground and
leaves to make it appear that the animal
had struggled in q natural manner, con-
ceal himself near by and take the prowler
lin the act" when he next comes to his
snares.
The usual way of collecting pheasants
Is for the poacher to provide himself with
a light gun, using a very small charge. SO
that the report will be slight, with which
he kills the birds in the trees In which
they roost. Keepers. therefore. make
wooden decoys and place them In trees
located, from the poacher's point or view,
most conveniently and conceal themselves
near by. When the night prowler begins
to blaze away at the decoys the keepers
rush out and make a capture. The steal
ing Of pheasants' eggs Is regarded IN
England as the most hein0us form OF
poaching, and eggers are sometimes
caught by means of decoy nest In which
eggs have been placed. When all else
has failed poachers are occasionally bag
ged by means of marked hareS or RABBITS
When such a marked animal Is founu In
a game shop 1t Is an easy matter to trace
it back to the man who originally offered
it for sale.
On more than one occasion it has been
proved that London game dealers were
operating as the confederates OF the pro-
fessional poachers, who operated boldly
in gangs so large as to make tho efforts
of the keepers futile.