In the case of the otter the dates are peculiary
contra- dictory. The favourite hunting season almost coincides with the breeding season. Doubtless otter are vermin ; and now that fishing sites are sold at prices per foot that compare with suburban building sites they are often regarded as particularly vicious vermin. Personally, I hold that they arc of actual advantage on a trout stream. They kill diseased fish and keep down the eels which are peculiarly destructive of the food of the fish. Few things pleased me more than to hear of a Westmorland water-warden who cultivated otters for these very reasons ; and went so far as to provide them with semi-artificial bolts. But, whether they are friend or foe of the fisherman, there is no good reason in the world why they should be harried just before and just after the young are born. Parliament is continually discussing bills for the Protection of Birds (the new Scottish Bill is one of the best). We also need a wider bill for readjusting the dates of the close seasons for animals of all kinds, except a few specially mentioned on an •index expurgatorius.
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