Fashion's Toll of Bird Life.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 23 October 1914, Page 8

Fashion's Toll of Bird Life.

DANGER OF DISEASE IP

SLAUGHTER GOES ON,

CRUEL PLUMAGE TRADE

.Following the lead given by' L the United' "States, a large 'humlper of people gathered at the Whitehall Rooms to express their approval of a Bill intended to prohibit the im- ._ portation into the United Kingdom of .the skins, and plumes of certain "birds.; ' • '"T Sir Harry Johnson, .the famous traveller, who presided, said if there were no insects, ticks, molluscs, or worms, two-thirds of the world's diseases would come to an end, and for the limitation 'of these pests . there was no agency so potent as birds.. If the normal protection of birds . were diminished, crops and orchards suffered. Farmers and fruit-growers of Southern England had complained of the scarcity of swallows, due to the passion- which prevailed in Italy and France foi the destruction of small birds. Hunters who worked for the great trading houses obtained,, 'the skins and "plumes" for the ' most part for dress trimmings7 and hats" of rich and thoughtless Women. The bulk of these' required for; the wholly unnecessary purpose of adding beauty to the c^stume^ of women, who ,would look just as beautiful and appear infinitely - wiser and better if they did without which civilised man had lorig discarded*. <

Mr. James" ' Buckland said that if birds, which were the natural enemies of forest insects, were annihilated every tree would perish, and man would be powerless to prevent the calamity. Yet the plumage tracle was reaching out its tentacles into the innermost. recesses of the forests "of the \vorld, and drawing in the. skins r> of every one of these 'feathered "gtTardians.

A .matter"of ,'very grave concern was the enormous number of ny> catching^ and parasite-eating birda that.were being killed annually for "their, plumage in Central Africa. in a warm country the kingfisher fed almost entirely on insects,' of which it ate 150 a day, and that j;he skins of 216,660 kingfishersl should be offered at the last siLondon feather sales was asking for trouble. During the past twelve months the figures of some of the species sold were :— \ Crowned pigeons ... 21,318 Macaw wings (pairs) 5[79j.' Quills of the white crane ... 20,715' Humming, Birds !„ 4,11 a' Birds of Paradise 17,711j PATHETIC PICTURES. j How the maternal instinct of the birds showed itself in deaj^^i illustrated by slides and storied Ono picture showed a beautiful egret which had been shot in the breast, but had dragged itself home to its nest, where it lay down and expired next to its young, which were call-, ing for food. Little birds were seen rearing their bills in the nest wait* ing for the mother who never came. In many cases the young birds died of starvation or tottered over the edge of the nest and were killed. " The pity is," said Sir Harry, Johnston after the lecture, "that so j many chambers of commerce—and | notably that of London, which should sit in dust for it—back up ' this horrible trade. They are now in the position of the slave traders who 100 years ago backed up the' I system of slavery." j