The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-10-06
DERR-RuNNlNe DOGS
New York Commission Endeavoring
To Correct Evil.

the evil indirectly treated is one tina
has given the fish and game depart
ment of Vermont and the game ward
ems no end of trouble:
1.-The hunters OF the town of Hoo
sick, in common with sportsmen il
other sections OF the state, have
raised protest against the new
laws, and this voice is bound to bl
heard within the walls of the legisla
ture. There are several parts of the
conservation law which the hunters
attack, and which they argue were
never advocated or sponsored by q
| sportsman or anyone familiar in the
least particular with hunting.
Section 1913 of the conservation
law reads in part: NO dog OF
either sex shall be taken into the
| Adirondack or Catskill park, or into
forests inhabited by deer, or harbored
or possessed therein, unless the
| owner shall first obtain a license for
such dog from the commission. and
| pay a fee OF one dollar thereof. The
| license shall be issued by the com
mission in its discretion and under
such rules and regulations as it may
deem advisable and shall terminate
with the calendar year in which is
sued A metal tag marked with the
number corresponding to the license
shall be issued with the said license
and shall be attached to cellar and
shall be at all times worn by the dog
so licensed. >"
1.-The first objection to the new rul-
ings OF the conservation commission
is raised against the section which
compels a man to procurse a license
from the commission to bring dog
into forests inhabited by deer.
This is to the effect that, though
there is no open season on deer in
Rensselaer, county land very few deer
in the county,) it is necessary to pro-
cure hunting license for dog. This
compels hunters to procure three sep
arate licenses, in the town of Hoos.ck
at least. There is the town dog tax,
the hunting license for the hunter and
the Conservation commission license
for the dog. This triple tax is OBJ
jocted to most strenuously by practic-
ally every hunter in the town.
Another part of the same section
makes it lawful for a dog of either
sex 90 run at large in any forests in
habited by deer unaccompanied by
its owner. This prevents the owner
of dog from loaning the animal to
a friend when the owner is unable TO
go hunting himself. In the town of
HoCsick this ruling will be felt to
considerable extent as there are not
nearly as many hunting dogs in the
town as there hunters.
Another phase of the situation rel
alive to the clause compelling man
to accompany his dog into the woods
is brought out against the farmers
who own dogs, and nearly every far
mer owns one or more. The law says
that dogs shall not run at large in for
ests inhabited by deer unless accom-
panied by the owner. In the case of
farmers who live near wood or small
forest ii will be necessary TO keep
their dogs tied up or devise some 9th
er means to prevent the animals from
going into the woods when the own
er cannot accompany them. If this
is not done, 1t is agued that the far
mer breaks the law as much as the
hunter who allows someone to take
his dog for hunting purposes.
1.-THE third part of the section that
arouses the fire of the hunters is that
which says a collar must be worn by
a dog at all times, This ruling is
made by the commission for the pur-
pose of attaching the commissions
license to the collar How inhumane
this is can be readily understood by
giving the ruling a little thought.
Hunters argue that there is great dan
ger to dogs becoming entangled and
strangling themselves when they run
through brush, provided they wear col
lars Without a collar there is no dan
ger of any such occurrence. And then
there is the impediment Of a collar.
It is argued that collar interferes
with a dogs breathing, in some in
instances to such an extent that there
is a likelihood of the animal choking.
Loud and vigorous are the protests
that are being raised against the new
rulings. To a man, those who procured
licenses from Town Clerk O'Meara
last week, expressed their unqualified
disapproval of the new law. Some
are so much aroused over the situa-
ton that there is talk Of organizing
the hunters Of the town to make a for
NAL protest to the commission. Moth
ing definite has been done in this di-
,rectlon up to the present, but there is
every indication of the movement be-
ing started in the next few days.
There is no end of misunderstood |
ing about the term inhabited by
deer" as expressed in the section re- J
ferred to in the conservation laws. ,
1t is held by some that the meaning
of the term is that in any county
where deer are to be found at all, the
law is effective. BY others it is held
that in sections of counties where deer
are not plentiful, where the sight of
them is an exception, the law does not
apply A correct translation OF the
term has been sought, but nothing de.