The Cordova daily times., 1922-02-16
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1922
FALLACIOUs CONSERVATION

In a timely communication a correspondent calls attention to some of the features ot the new federal game regulations, which are of a character to warrant more than passing atten- tion, and asks who made them and upon what knowledge of essential restrictions they are based
 Like him we would like to know who did, for, viewed from the standpoint of the average Alaskan, it is in some respects one of the most uncalled for of all the numerous asnlne things that Washington bureaucracy has inflicted up on the territory in the name of conservation and protection
 As the writer points out, the new regulations prohibit shooting foxes and other fur bearing animals with firearms of any character but allows full liberty in the use of traps, except ing only the device known the "klips,' bear traps, or others with a jaw spread of more than eight inches. Just why the killing of fox, mink, martin, otter, beaver and other land fur bearing animals by means of firearms is forbidden, is difficult to understand. Ac- cording to men who know the fur business, not one in twenty foxes taken in this section of AL aska during the past ten years was shot, al though many thousands were captured.
 This in itself appears most conclusive arg ument that the use of firearms does not threat en their decimation to the same extent as traps As far as we are able to learn by in ouiry among those who know, the same thing applies to practically every other fur bearing animal found in the district; hence we may well wonder what in the name of common sense dictated such restrictions. If it was aimed at conservation where does 1t conserve since eX- perience has shown that traps thousand times more deadly than guns? Considered from the humanitarian standpoint, the regula- ton Is equally absurd Is 1t not better to kill by means which act quickly, than to subject an animal to long hours, or perhaps days of agony in the clutch of traps cruel grip? You may not shoot a fox, for instance, but you are givin full authority to torture him to death in trap. Or, if he survives that, you can slowly club him into dissolution if you will, but dare not send him to instant death with bullet through his brain.
 It is also a moot question as to why dogs are barred from use in the pursuit of fur bearers. Does some one back in Washington conceive in wondrous wisdom that the use of dogs threatens their extinction9 Even when there were no fantastic regulations to prevent, we never heard of even a chechacko hunter who made practice of using dogs to hunt fur an- imals Down in the timber belt below the Yu- kon they may occasionally employ dogs in pur- suing fur game, but so far as we have heard they are of little use, save in deer and bear hunting One thing is certain and that is that among the vast number of fur animals killed in the territory before the parlous days of con- servation were thrust upon us by far away wiseacres, very few were brought to an untim- ely end by the use of dogs. So far as we can discerned the clause serves no other purpose but to display how little was known about AL aska game conditions by those who framed it.
 The continuous open season on rabbits and hares is another feature of the law that is open to criticism As our correspondent suggests, there are none to many in the country. Futher- more they are unfit for food during large part of the spring and summer. Were this not the case the. continuous open season pro- vided by the new regulations would certainly