Supplement to Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador | Page 8

beyond certain limits,
and it takes a very short time to do that in some cases.... About three
years ago, ruffed grouse were so scarce everywhere that I have
travelled hundreds of miles without seeing one. They were protected by
law, which no doubt did much near the densely populated sections, but
as far as our coast was concerned did absolutely nothing because
Indians and trappers shot them on sight for food. Last year there were a
few seen here and there and all at once, during the present season, there
are thousands. Hundreds have been shot and they are reported abundant
all over. I imagine this must be due to particularly favourable weather
conditions and the immense number of foxes trapped last winter. There
is also this fall, an extraordinary number of muskrats--they are
swarming everywhere, even in totally, unfavourable localities, doing
much damage in some places. What is the cause of this? Presumably it
must be through some cause decreasing the number of their enemies.
This is why I think much care must be taken before any steps are taken
to protect certain species. Some still hold their own against all odds.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, Governor General of
Canada, acknowledged the receipt of the Address from Balmoral Castle
in September, granted an interview at Ottawa in December, and

authorized the use of his name to show his sympathy with the
movement.
Dr. W.T. Grenfell has a long and most intimate knowledge of the
Atlantic Labrador. He writes:
The matters of animal preservation which interest me most are: The
rapid decline in numbers of harp seals which we Northern people can
get for our boots and clothing. This food and clothing supply, formerly
readily obtainable all along the Labrador, helped greatly to maintain in
comfort our scattered population. It is scarcely now worth while putting
out seal nets. We attribute this to the destruction of seals at the time of
their whelping, by steamers which are ever growing larger and more
numerous. No mammal, producing but one offspring can long survive
this.
Along the Labrador coast east of the Canadian border, birds are
destroyed on sight and nests robbed wherever found. The laws are a
dead letter because there is no one to enforce them.
There is great need also for scientific inquiry with regard to the
fisheries--the herring and mackerel are apparently gone, the salmon are
getting scarcer, and the cod fisheries have been failing perceptibly these
past years. Yet there is no practical effort made to discover the reason
and obviate it.
On the 9th of September, 1911, Earl Grey made the following entry in
the visitors' book at La Roche:
I desire to thank the provincial government of Quebec for having given
me the opportunity of visiting, as their guest, the Laurentides National
Park, and to acknowledge the great pleasure which I have derived from
all I have seen and done.... I would also like to congratulate them on the
wisdom of their policy in establishing so large a reserve, as a protection
for various breeds of wild animals which would otherwise be in danger
of extinction, and as a place of rest, refreshment, and recreation for
those who love the quiet of the wilds.
Mr. George Bird Grinnell, one of the greatest authorities in the world
on the Indian and wild life of North America, writes:
I have recently read with extraordinary interest your address, presented
last January to the Commission of Conservation....
I wish to offer you my personal thanks for the effective way in which
you have set forth the desirability of establishing wild-life refuges in

Labrador, and I trust that what you have said will start a movement in
Canada to carry out this good project. It has long interested me to know
that your people and their officials seem much more farseeing than
those on this side of the line, and Canada's show of national parks and
reservations is far more creditable than that of her neighbour to the
south.
Dr. H. Mather Hare, who does on the Canadian Labrador what Dr.
Grenfell does on the Newfoundland or Atlantic Labrador, and whose
headquarters are at Harrington, where the first coast sanctuary ought to
be established at the earliest possible moment, says:
May I make a suggestion? The fishermen coming here from Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland do not believe there is really a law against
egging and shooting. They say it is a put-up job by the people living on
the coast, because they want all the eggs and birds themselves. This
being the case, would it not be a good idea to have a notice in several of
the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland papers warning the fishermen
against breaking the law, and in this way putting the interdiction on