Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-20
Whu Ducks
Don't Like Men
And Crows


w vest? That bird wouldn't have much to say for
himself accused Of lowering brthrate the countrys
waterfowl by eating their potential offspring would be
case where being caught yellowvesed was worse than
being caught red-handed
But how many people ever saw such eggspattered
crow asks the Emergency Conservation Committee
New a bulletin the shortage
Of wild ducks and geese in this country.
These conservationists have prove that ii is
the with the gun--who calls himself sportsman
and not the noisy black who is doing the to
keep wild ducks and from raising large families and
assuring the country permanent crop of birds
Yet for nearly ten years sportsmen have been blaming
the They claim that in certain nesting that
bird ate up so per cent of the eggs Worse STILL
when he found himself get Unmatched eggs he
gobbled up few Of the newborn offspring instead
But that say the conservatonists was maybe pure
hearsay the sportsmen who witnessed the deed didn't
see quite straight they sighting guns
There for passing the buck to this bird the
Emergency Committee points out.
The crow has been skyrockeed into public attention
1888" they say Until that year the shortage of
waterfowl had been explained in sporting magazines and
sporting anizaon by drought drainage advance
ment of civilization, disease, and many other factors
The shortage had caused baglimits waterfowl to
he lowered and seasons shortened Tins naturally meant
less shooting with the consequent result mat less aun
sold and there less advertising in sporting
magazines To offset this it necessary to get men
the field with guns two months of each
year possible the whole II months In order to do
this the picked fitting villain to excite the
wrath of the hunters"
OF a noisy bird who wasn't such bad fellow
The u S Bureau of Biological Survey checked
uD
spot he found to be a real culprit-and
there the damage nowhere great sporsmen
claimed Under the STARS and Stripes the crows were
wemannered that the waterfowl eggs they consumed
negligible.
one investigator after years observation found
that allowing hunters to kill crows in refugees
much wild ducks than let the alone and
luck they wouldn't be inspired to go on duck
egg diet.
shallow water where ducks to feed. No duck
enough to know that few lead shot in her gizzard
certainly give her something TO quack about, II they
don't kill her outright Along with other food she eats this
shot slowly ground down in the gizzard and absorbed
into the bloodsream causing lead poisoning
Just shot the birds digestive apparatus, If 1t
doesn't kill will seriously affect egg-layng ability and
fertility this has a direct bearing increasing the
population Of wild ducks.
Shooting duck a goose often is worse Hunters have
the past few years while birds have
decreasing that every of the nearly 100000
hunters in this country bagged their legal limit
only days of the season the countrys ducks
and geese would be wiped out.
Then for every bagged. estimated that
left crippled and probably will die Even the
where birds supposed TO learn the feeling
Of safety aren't any Many Federal refugees
permit shooting in certain Cars speedboats and
even airpanes duck enemies, because they carry
hunters hundreds OF miles to the favorable hunting
grounds The most cruel forms Of hunting where live
ccoys kept ponds and marshes persuade flying
geese that the place is safe prohibited
by Feeding birds the hunting grounds lure them
reach and then firing at them also has been ruled
illegal
But something almost as bad frequently boosted as an
aid conservation This IS giving the birds few rest
days when they can feed and relax during the regular
hunting The evil of this is that the birds grow
accustomed 10 and 20 fear them. When the
the natural caution which normally
would keep the birds alive.
one OF duck hazards man alone can
be held responsible that migrating birds are subject
10 shooting the way from Alaska Mexico Instead
Of getting adequate protection from 45-day hunting
season they have to gauntlet Of hunters nearly
three and onehah months they from hunting
zone 20 another
After leading such harsssed lives those
survive shot is fatal lead poisoning scarcely up
the Job Of repopuating waterfowl world