COUNTRY LIFE
Problem of Decreasing Wildfowl
For some years the question of the numerical status of migratory geese and duck has been causing concern to orni- thologists and sportsmen. A deplorable situation has been reached in U.S.A., for example, when a drastic measure has been necessary to reduce the open season for shooting wild duck to practically one month a year. In Sweden all shooting of wild duck in the province of Jemtland has been forbidden for a period of five years. The two things have the same meaning : that wild duck, in common with wild geese and many other species of wild fowl, are decreasing in numbers throughout a large area of the world. Several factors are said to be responsible for this : cold storage, by which wild- fowl have been made a commercial proposition; excessive use of decoys in certain European countries; draining of land, agricultural development and spread of civilisation, all of which have seriously disturbed or destroyed nesting areas; shooting of birds in the early spring, when paired, and of young birds not ready to fly. It must be remembered that wildfowl travel over long distances, and do not belong to any one country, so that the problem of their protection is an international one. As usual, the International Committee for Bird Preservation has tackled it, with the result that the British Section has now drafted a Bill aimed at extending the minimum close time for wild duck and wild geese both at the beginning and end of the present season. Many birds are already paired, and are nesting in February. In August many late broods still cannot fly. Protection at both times is imperative.
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