Darius Ogden Mills

“ But it is estimated that the hunter secures only one out of three or four such seals killed in the open sea, and on this basis the enormous destruction of seal life by the poachers, in proportion to the sealskins which are furnished for the purposes of commerce through their operations, may be easily estimated. Every seal-skin placed upon the market by them represents the destruction of six or eight seals—an utterly unjustifiable inroad into the vitality of the herds, already small enough as a source of supply for the world. ”

“ No female seal, nor any seal less than one year old, may be killed at any season of the year. Such are the main restrictions placed by the United States upon the seal fishery; and there is no reason to fear that the great rookeries in Bering Sea would not continue would not, indeed, improve as long as the seal fur should be of value for the use of man, if the industry were carried on only under these salutary regulations. ”

“ Enormous damage is done to the herds also by the manner in which the poachers hunt them in the open sea. It will be remembered that in the enactment regarding the Bering Sea seal fisheries Congress prohibited the use of firearms, and the Alaska Commercial Company, in its regulations for the conduct of affairs on the seal islands, even prohibited dogs from being kept on the islands. The seal is easily frightened, and for the proper development of the rookeries it is essential that he be exempt from any disturbance that can be avoided. Firearms are freely used by the poachers, however. ”

“ There is the best evidence that the poachers confine themselves almost entirely to this commercially-precious female portion of the herds. It is reported that, out of twenty-five thousand sealskins which resulted from the work of those engaged in this disgraceful traffic, not one male skin could be found. This may be easily understood, for the male seal is strong and alert, and no hunter can get within shooting distance of him, as he can generally escape from the fastest boat pursuing him. ”

“ The seals which have arrived at the grounds do not show the usual proportion of animals that, having regard to their age and quality, can be killed without detriment to the future of the herds. In these circumstances, the company has deemed it necessary to send special instructions to its agents on the islands to redouble the precautions against interference with animals whose capture would involve future loss. The method of killing employed on the islands is such as to render it perfectly practicable to carry out with the greatest exactness instructions of this character. ”

“ They must be protected during the entire season if their young are not to perish with them. They live only upon fish, and must therefore go to the water for their food. The large fishing-banks on which the Pribylov seals must depend for subsistence are from thirty to sixty miles distant from the islands, and if the females are killed by the hunter there while feeding, the pup left on the island, which does not become able to take care of itself until after September, loses its protector and dies. ”

“ The seals are driven in droves from the shore to the killing-place, and as the work is done under the eyes of inspectors representing the government and the company, it is certain that no animals are slaughtered in violation of the restrictions it has been deemed proper to impose. ”

“ Accordingly, fishing in the open seas, they turn their attention to the very subjects—the female seals and the young animals—which, in view of the facility with which they may be secured and of the great injury to the herds which would result from their systematic destruction, the United States government has wisely placed upon the restricted list. ”

“ The number and the age of seals which may be killed during the year, the period during which the operations of the company's employees may be carried on, the methods which may be employed in securing and killing the seals, and other matters which are known to have an important bearing upon the maintenance of the herds, are defined in the clearest manner by the law ”