The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-09-20

|
tect On their own properties, and
| heretofore have been prevented by
our laws from killing only at sea-
son that the experts have dictated
l was for the original bill, for it
gave every man the right to do as he
| pleased on and with his own proper
ty in this game matter. The new
bill allowed anyone the right to kill
| for his own home use, at any season
of the year, any game that might be
on his own inclosed premises. II the
| farmer should raise one or a dozen
| coveys of quail, a drove of turkeys,
| squirrels or other game on his in
| closed lands, then that game belongs
more to him than to any outsider,
| and he should have the right to kill
it any time he or his family might be
sick, or would relish such game-just
| as he would domestic fowl. The
privilege of killing our wild game
should not be held solely in the inter
est of a very select class of people,
who are expert shots, who have here
tofore claimed the right to enter our
fields and kill the game. merely for
sport, that has fattened on our corn,
-rice ETC., and who laughs US to scorn
when We object to such high handed
injustice. There is scarcely a farmer
in Marion county today who has not
been overawed or circumvented by
these gentlemen sports-some of
whom do not pay taxes on a foot of
land in the county-yet have claimed
the right to tresspass on another peo-
pies property under the game laws
of the past.
Have our birds increased within the
few years under the four months open
season, with more expert hunters.
pump and automatic guns in the field
every year? They have not. Then
dosen't it stand to reason that with
just half of the open season as here
tofore, and fewer hunters in the field,
the birds would stand a better chance
to increase?
When you sift our game laws down
who are the beneficiaries? Who are
they who are raising such howls
about our present law? Not the
working men in our factories, not our
carpenters, brick masons, plasterers,
painters, small farmers or other
working men. Not our merchants,
not their clerks. Who then is it, who
i say: We want to set aside this law
that was introduced for the masses?
Bless you, can't yau guess? No
trouble to do that. Just a few of the
pump or automatic gun gentlemen,
with their thoroughbred pointer dogs,
whom it dosen't suit to get out in
September and October to do their
hunting and a few others who wish
to hold our hunting season open till
it suits those parties from the north
of us to come to Florida in the win
ter and from whom toll can be had
in various ways. The people know
who these gentlemen are and they
further know that not one man in ten
in our county gets the taste of quail,
squirrel, duck, turkey or venison, much
less kill any of this game, during any
portion of our heretofore game sea-
son.
Ask any well posted man in Ocala
and he can pick out ten or twelve
, men of the town who kill more quail
and other game during our open
season, than all the balance of the
, other five thousand inhabitants put
| together. If these old laws were in
tended for the masses, isn't it mis-
carriage of justice in this instance
y 1t these old laws were not intended
been all that could have been asked
in that direction. Some of these
same professional sports are holding
, up their hands in holy horror at
September and October-claiming
that these birds have not fair show
; ing when so young, etc.
, Now isn't it a great part of this
| talk buncomb? What showing does
; any bird have old or young, when
: hunted by an expert shot, with an
automatic shot gun and brace of poin.
t ter dogs? If in the first round the
| six shots fail to get all of the coyey
: sight is kept on the birds that escape
t guns reloaded and dogs put on the
; trail of the other birds, till probably
f every bird in the covey has been killed
: or wounded. Isn't this magnamanimous
e treatment of the poor harmless birds
D And all this just for sport. In reality
r what does it matter with the birds
!, themselves whether they are killed
r or die from wounds whilst young OF
{ old? So all this talk about killing
+ the innocent young birds is not sym
4 pathy for the innocent young-but
e simply not so much meat or higf
g class sport for the experts. If any
e of these gentlemen experts feel shock
l. ed at hunting in September and
October just let them stay at home
F.: This will give the single barrel shot
: gun man, without a hundred dollar
r pointer dog a chance-maybe to kill
e a bird now and then-even up thing: