Disappointed With Rabbit Destruction

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30289, 15 November 1963, Page 6

Disappointed With Rabbit Destruction

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, Nov. 14. Lack of progress in rabbit board coverage was caused by the continuing unwillingness of the Government to adopt and promulgate a firm policy tor the remaining five or six million acres in New Zealand which needed the services boards could give, says the Rabbit Destruction Council in its eleventh annual report released today. The report said disappointingly small progress had been made with increasing coverage in the last year. The areas most needing coverage continued to be Taranaki and parts of Waikato and South Auckland. During the year the council had continued to press the Minister of Agriculture for a Government decision which would pave the way tor completion of coverage of infested areas. One of the proposed extensions had been approved, but it was only a minor contribution to the solution of this long-standing issue which was one which should be dealt with comprehensively rather than by stages. The council stUl believed that 1080 was the most suitable poison tor rabbit destruction, but a close watch was being kept on any new developments which might be of assistance. The work of the Wallaby Destruction Committee con-

tinued throughout the last year, during which time it was dealing with much lower infestations. The areas where sheepcarrying capacity had been seriously affected by wallaby infestation were recovering most encouragingly following the clearance of the pest. The council had hoped more boards would have accepted responsibility for opossum destruction. The reluctance of some boards was because of their view that opossums should be completely devalud beefore the boards took over the work. The Minister of Forests had announced the deferment of complete devaluation of opossums. This was of considerable disappointment to the council which felt a valueless opossum was an essential ingredient of any successful scheme of destruction of rabbit boards. However, pending ultimate devaluation, the council would do its best to make the present scheme work as effectively as possible and encourage more rabbit boards to seek permission to destroy opossums. The cost of rabbit and opossum destruction in the last year was £1,471,365. The council had no doubt that the money was well spent in the interests of maintaining and increasing farm production.