Close Time

Close Time, the time during which the State or other authorities take wild birds and other animals under their protection, and forbid their destruction or molestation during their breeding season or, if necessary, at other times; so as to prevent their numbers from being too far diminished. Formerly applied only to game, the principle has now been adopted in the case of many animals. Negotiations are now going on with a view to securing an international close time for fur seals, since commercial greed seems otherwise likely to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.