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FARMERS ALLOWED TO SHOOT MR. DUCK

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Ruling Permitting an "Open Season" to Save Rice Fields to Go Into Effect at Once.

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ACCORDING to a telegram received by Carl Westerfeld, local Fish and Game Commissioner, from the Biological Survey office, in Washington, D. C., farmers owning rice fields in Butter, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, will be permitted to shoot ducks that are destroying their rice.

This ruling was made yesterday and will take effect immediately.

However, this ruling has nothing to do with hunters. For sportsmen the regular season will open as usuel on October 16. Farmers will not be allowed to hire extra help to kill the ducks and all birds that cannot be consumed by the farmers must be shipped to some charitable institution.

INVESTIGATION HELD.

The Fish and Game Commission recently conducted an investigation to find just how badly the ducks have destroyed the rice fields and out of the 145,000 acres planted to rice only 100 acres have been molesetd. This is attributed to the fact that the ducks are unable to get into hundreds of the fields on account of the height of the rice stalks.

This investigation was made by H. C. Bryant, economical orinthologist; Carl Westerfeld and a representative of the Rice Growers' Association. All agreed that the fields had been destoye din some places, but the majority were left untouched. However, after a thorough discussion of the problem, it was deemed absolutely necessary to make the ruling and a suggestion to that effect was forwarded to Washington.

ORDER FROM WASHINGTON.

Washington, October 1. Carl Westerfield, Fish and Game Commissioner, San Francisco:

Blanket federal permission granted rice growers members and immediate families and employees in Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, California, to will ducks from September 30 to Oct rebo15 inclusive, 191, in open fields of rice when necessary to protect rice crops from damage by ducks. No ducks to be shot at from artificial or natural blinds or from fields from which rice has been harvested.

Ducks killed not to be sold, offered for sale, shipped for purposes of sal or be wantonly wasted or destroyed, but may be used for food purposes by persons killing them and may be transported to hospitals and charitable institutions in California for use as food.

Any package in which ducks are transported must have name and adddress of shipper and of consignee and accurate statement of number and kinds of ducks contained therein clearly and conspicuously marked on outside thereof.

Each owner or lessee of land on which ducks are killed must on or before October 25 submit sworn statement of number and kinds of ducks killed each day on such land. Manner of dispostion of ducks and cost of ammunition used.

Make public foregoing. Full text perm it by mail.

HENDERSON.

Original copied by Smithsonian Archives