Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-09
Staying OF DOE
TO BE PUNISHED
Hunters Do Not Need to Kill
Female; Bucks Are
.. Plenty.


deer season of 1918 has been marked
by so many reports of killing of
| does that game protectors and men
who have been engaged either for
special services or as volunteers to
prevent violations have been in
structed to follow up every case and
make prompt arrests. In some sec
/ tions reports of half a dozen does
being killed have turned up, most
of the killings being due to care
! lessness.
THE reports coming in of killing
| of does are most regrettable, said
DR.. Joseph Kalbfus, secretary of the
State Game Commission. THE deer
season has another week to go and
there are plenty of bucks. People
do not need to shoot does. We in
| tend to prosecute every case that we
can because the law to protect the
does was one of the best for sports
men and the man who kills female
/ deer deserves all the punishment he
can be given"
DR.. Kalbfus got report a day or
so ago of man appearing at the
office of a man connected with the
game commission and announcing
that he had killed big bull elk in
mistake for u giant deer. He was
so frank about it and explained his
mistake that he was let go with the
fine that the law requires. There
was nothing else to do.
Many deer are being killed and
some fine bucks are reported shot
in the first few days at well-known
camps. Deer have been numerous
and have gone close to camps.
| Reports have also come of the kill
ing of more bears than usual in the
northern counties. These reports
show that good-sized bears were
shot.
There were many ring-necked
pheasants shot this fall and it is
due to the propagation plans we
have followed out. Where the birds
were released and looked after they
were to be found. 1t was the same
with quail, but there was more
| pheasant shooting than for long
| time in some parts of the state" !"
says DR.. Kalbfus, 1T will be some
time before we get in all the reports
but l am satisfied that we had the
best wild turkey shooting in a long
time, probably the best ever known
! in the state. There were lots of the
| birds and the hunters went after
them" DR.. Kalbfus commented.
Fully a third of the arrests made
lately by state game protectors have
been for violations of the game
code. In the summer time the
prosecutions were mainly aliens for
possessing firearms, a drive being
made in this direction as a war
time measure, but now the arrests
are for violations of the game laws
and some fragrant instances have
been reported. From fifteen ia
twenty arrests have been reported
for killing grouse on which there Is
an absolutely closed season and the
men arrested for this offense ap'
peared to think that they were be.
ing Disseminated against in spite oi
the statewide effort to protect the
bird.
AS a general rule, however, there
have been many sportsmen who
have gone out of their way to see
that grouse are not disturbed
Quite q few instances have come tC
light where sections where grouse
are known to be has been marked
and not entered by hunters.
The number of licenses issued
is one of the notable things abou
the hunting season which is draw
ing to close. The number i:
close to that of last season and al
estimates that there would be {
| drop because OIL lHe HuIllDeT VI lu6l
in the army have gone awry. Ii
the southwest part of the state
almost every county has run ahead
of the number of licenses issued 6
year ago, the lower Susquehanni
VALLEY counties being up in the 10,'
900 class. The total number of Ii.
censes issued in Pennsylvania this
year will be an interesting table.
Wild migratory birds other thar
game birds seem to have materially
Increased in Pennsylvania during
the last year, except the bluebirds
which were hard hit by the severe
winter The weather is also blamed
for the scarcity of rabbits. The in
crease in wild turkeys in the face OF
the terrible cold and deep SHOWS OF
last winter is due first to the closed
season eight years ago and the feed
ing of the birds by game protectors
and sportsmen and others who were
supplied with funds from the license
revenue for the purpose.