Abstract
NATURE is doing a service to science, as well as to art, in having opened its pages to the discussion of the Plumage (Prohibition) Bill. For in the end the Bill should be drafted in harmony with the scientific facts concerning the bird-life it is designed to protect, and also with due regard for the æsthetic and decorative needs of mankind. There is one aspect of the subject which has hitherto been only lightly touched upon, but which, if unfettered, is sure to become of great importance in the future, namely, the domestication of plumage birds. Impressed with the success of its ostrich industry, South Africa has for some time turned its attention to the possibility of the domestication of other plumage birds. Experiments have already demonstrated that the marabou stork can be controlled in captivity and, in all probability, induced to breed. Attention has also been directed to the gregarious weaver-birds and other brightly coloured species; but the advent of war turned men's thoughts away from the arts of peace.
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DUERDEN, J. The Plumage Bill and Bird Protection. Nature 105, 263 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/105263a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/105263a0
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