several occasions, has marked his approval by writing the following
letter for publication here:--
Dear Colonel Wood,
I have been reading with the greatest interest your
address on Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador and also the
draft of the Supplement which you were good enough to
send me for perusal. You have certainly been so far
rewarded for your trouble by having collected a great
weight of testimony and of valuable opinions, all
endorsing the useful cause to which you are devoting
yourself.
I know from reports that many varieties of game, which
were threatened with extinction in South Africa ten years
ago, have, by the timely establishment of game reserves,
been saved, and are now relatively numerous. I may add
that this end has not been obtained simply by the
establishment of the reserves and by the passing of
game-laws, but by enforcing those laws in the most rigid
manner and by appointing the right men to enforce them.
From personal experience I know what the game reserves
have done for East Africa. In these reserves the wild
animals are left to breed and live in peace, undisturbed
by any one but the game-warden. From them the overflow
drifts out into the surrounding districts and provides a
plentiful supply for the hunter and settler. What has
been done in Africa could be done in Canada and
elsewhere. You have so much land which is favourable to
birds and beasts, though unfavourable to the settler,
that it would seem to be no hardship to give up a
suitable area or areas for the purpose of a reserve.
This, with the infliction of heavy penalties for the
ruthless destruction of animal life, should secure a
fresh lease of existence for the various species whose
extermination now appears to be imminent.
Please accept my best wishes for the success of your
work, in which you may always count upon my greatest
sympathy.
Believe me,
Yours truly,
ARTHUR.
II. VERIFICATION.
In order to make quite sure about conditions up to date, I spent two
months last summer examining some 1500 miles of coast line, from Nova
Scotia, round by Newfoundland to the Straits, and thence inwards along
the Canadian Labrador and North Shore of the St. Lawrence. On the whole,
I found that I had rather under- than over-stated t
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