All of my readers probably know in a general way that Dame Fashion is
responsible for the destruction of the lives of many birds, but they
may not know to what extent this is true.
Why do we say that any cruel treatment of the birds is chargeable to
fashion? It can hardly be necessary to remind ourselves that there is
in almost every boy's nature a touch of the savage instincts which find
expression in the desire to kill something. Traces of this instinct
do not entirely disappear with the development into manhood, but
show themselves there in the love of hunting and fishing. Let these
remnants of savagery be appealed to by the promise of gain and they are
immediately fanned into flame in the natures of those persons who are
naturally more strongly drawn to this primitive occupation of men. In
short, place before the professional hunter an easy means of profiting
by his skill as a hunter, and in far too many instances he will smother
any humane instincts which he may have for the sake of the gain. It is
the demands of fashion for plumes and feathers for hat trimmings which
place before these hunters the temptation to kill. Have we not a right,
therefore, to place the blame at the door of Fashion?
But what are the practices which we call cruel? In the first place it
is cruelty to cause the destruction of life without good and sufficient
reason. Unnecessary sacrifice of life is cruelty. Certainly no one
will say that it is necessary to trim hats with feathers. Fashion
decrees that feathers must be worn, and presto! feathers are worn. In
the second place, it is cruel to kill birds who are feeding young ones
in the nest, leaving them to starvation. Yet this is just what has
happened and does happen every year. Plume hunters are no respecters
of times and seasons. With them there are no closed seasons. The birds
which they are after gather in large rookeries during the nesting
season and are therefore much easier to capture then than at other
times.
Most of the herons and similar plume-bearing birds are hunted and
killed for the plumes alone, or, at most, for a very small part of the
whole plumage. The part wanted is taken and the rest left to waste,
while the bird's body is never used for anything. If nothing worse, it
is an unpardonable waste. In Florida alone whole rookeries of herons
and ibises numbering hundreds and even thousands of individuals have
been wholly destroyed. Now the insatiable plume hunter, in his effort
to supply the demands of a no less insatiable fashion, is pursuing the
unfortunate birds into the fastnesses of Mexico and South America.
There is but one way to stop this work of extermination, and that
is to take away the demand. This remedy lies wholly in the hands of
women. Unless they are willing to take a firm stand against the use
of feathers for purposes of ornament the birds are doomed. This may
seem like a strong statement, but a little reflection will prove it
true. When the birds which are now hunted for plumes and feathers are
gone, there will be a modification of the demand to include birds
of different plumage, just as the aigrette is giving place to the
quill. After the quill and the long-pointed wing will come the shorter
wing, and after that the plumage of the small birds, and the cycle of
destruction will be complete.
Some one may ask why it is that the birds are so foolish as to allow
the hunter to kill hundreds in a single day from one rookery. Why don't
they leave the region when the shooting begins? The plume hunter has
learned cunning. He no longer uses a shot gun, but a small caliber
rifle or a wholly noiseless air gun. The rifle makes no more noise
than the snapping of a twig, and will therefore not frighten the
birds. By remaining concealed the hunter may kill every bird that is
within range. Since each bird is worth from twenty-five cents to five
dollars, according to the kind, a single day's work (or slaughter)
is profitable. The temptation is certainly great, and becomes almost
irresistible to him who loves hunting for its own sake.
The most cruel part of the whole business I have already stated, but it
will bear repeating. It is the killing of the breeding birds before the
young are able to care for themselves. There is abundant evidence that
the breeding time is the favorite time for hunting among plume hunters,
because then the old birds are more easy to kill, and because then the
plumage is the most perfect, for then the wedding garments are put on.
It should not be an impossible task to stop this whole cruel business.
But laws will not do it without a wholesome public sentiment behind
it. Women are notably foremost in all good works, and many of them
are doing nobly in this work, but it is painfully evident that many
are not. Let us make "a long pull and a strong pull and a pull all
together," and then we shall drag this growing evil back and down
forever.
Lynds Jones.