The Quail Protection Act But now, happily, all this, as
far as England is concerned, has been stopped. And the readers of The Spectator have, in a sense, stopped it. At least they have materially helped to stop it. On December zznd of last year the Quail Protection Act, 1937, received the Royal Assent after one of the quickest passages ever given to a Bird Bill. The Act prohibits the importation into the United Kingdom of any live quail between February 14th and July 1st. And the Secretary of the British Section of the International Committee now writes to me : " Your note in The Spectator last spring brought in many new supporters, and we could not have achieved what we have done and have in view to do without their financial support." This is the feather in the caps of the readers of The Spectator. As it was estimated that in 1934 no fewer than 750,000 quail were caught and exported alive during the migratory seasons, the feather is a considerable one. The Act, which follows the action of the Egyptian Government in prohibiting the export of quail during the same period, is designed also to give the lead to the whole of Europe. This is important; for there are still countries, such as Greece and Turkey, which by taking advantage of Egypt's self-sac- rificial action could build up a large export trade in quail and thus continue to menace its existence.
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