Whatever the fate of the harbour seals should be, there can be
no doubt that the harps or Greenland seals, the bearded or
square-flippers, the grey or horseheads, and the gigantic and
magnificently game hoods, should all be put under conservation. I am
also inclined to think that the walrus could be coaxed back to what once
were some of his most favourite haunts. Just now he has no chance
whatever; and he is so extremely rare that the one I nearly rowed the
dinghy into last August, down at Whale Head East, was only the second
seen inside the Straits during the present century.
III. PLAN OF CONSERVATION FOR THE CANADIAN LABRADOR.
Whaling, sealing and deep-sea fishing are Dominion and international
affairs; and whaling, at all events, is soon to engage the attention of
statesmen, experts and the public--let us hope, to some good end. The
inland birds and mammals from the St. Lawrence to Ungava now come under
the Province of Quebec; though no effective protection has ever reached
the Canadian Labrador. Beyond this, again, lies the Atlantic Labrador,
which is entirely under Newfoundland. So I would suggest that the
Commission should try a five-year experiment in the conservation of
seabird life along the Canadian Labrador, because this would not come
into overlapping contact with any other exercised authority, because it
is bound to be successful, because it will only cost a sum that should
be had for the asking, because it is most urgently pressing, and because
it can be begun at once, to the lasting advantage of all concerned.
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