A Bird Protection Bill for California
A Bird Protection Bill for California.
Following is a draft of the protective Bird Bill which was prepared by the Cooper Ornithological Club, and put in legal shape by Senator Edward K. Taylor of Alameda. The bill will be introduced in the California State Legislature which convened Jan. 7, by Senator Taylor and its successful passage is confidently hoped for. The bill received the endorsement of the California Fruit Growers' Convention and numerous Granges and Farmers' Clubs, and should it become a law California may well congratulate itself upon taking rank with the foremost bird protection states of the Union. The bill reads as follows:
An Act to amend the Penal Code by adding a new section to Title XV thereof, to be numbered six hundred and thirty-seven and one-half, providing for the protection of wild birds and their eggs and nests.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
A new section is hereby added to the Penal Code and to Title XV thereof, to be numbered six hundred and thirty-seven and one-half, as follows:
Section 637 ½. Every person who shall, in the State of California, take, gather or destroy the eggs or nests of, or hunt, shoot, shoot at, take, kill or destroy, buy, sell, give away or have in his possession any wild bird (except those species designated, generally known, and already protected as game birds), or who shall expose or have in his possession for sale, any part of the plumage, skin or body of any bird so protected, except as hereinafter provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; provided further, that nothing in this section shall prohibit the killing of the English Sparrow at any time, by anybody, or prohibit the killing of any bird, except by means of poison, by the owner or tenant of any premises where such bird is found destroying berries, fruits or crops growing on such premises.
Certificates may be granted by any incorporated society of natural history within the state, through such persons or officers as said society may designate. to any properly accredited person of fifteen years or upward, permitting the holder thereof to collect birds, their nests or eggs, for strictly scientific purposes only, or to keep native birds alive for study. The certificates authorized by this section shall be in force one year only from the date of their issue and shall not be transferable. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Frank M. Chapman
Editor, Englewood, N.J.
