KILLS DOUBLED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22439, 20 September 1947, Page 6

KILLS DOUBLED

WAR ON_ RABBITS SOUTH WAIROA AREA TINIROTO INSPECTION The number of rabbit kills in one area of the East Coast Rabbit Hoard’s district south of Wairoa was doubled during the past month, as a result of the use of strychnine poison mixed with jam. Officers in charge of operations in that area are looking forward to a big improvement in conditions there in the coming year. The portion of the board’s district lying between the Wairoa and Mohaka rivers, and particularly that portion bordering on the Mohaka "frontier,” has been giving much concern during the past two years. Reporting to the monthly meeting of the board held yesterday, with Messrs. E M. Monckton, chairman, G. M- Reynolds, M. L. Holden, Humphry Bayjy and H. C. Nolan irt attendance, the chief inspector, Mr. F. R. Bould, stated that since the previous meeting poisoning with strychnine and jam had bpen carried out over a large area of the Mohaka native block, with highly satisfactory results. This work had been continued on to the Ngamahanga station, and three rabbiters were working on the Cricklcwood road with the poison mixture. Kills on Mohaka Block The sub-inspector in charge of the south Wairoa area, Mr. H. F. Bennison, stated that he had spent much of the past month instructing the rabbiters m the use of poison, and a gang working on the Mohaka native block had doubled the number of kills by ibis means. Similar operations would be carried on in the Awamate country during the coming month. "I should sav that this year will see a big improvement in the country in the southern Wairoa area,” added Mr, Bemuson whose schedule of kills for tiie past month snowed that 1272 rabbits, including runners and nesters, had ocen disposed of during August. Kills on the Mohaka native block totalled 397, of which by far the larger proportion—33o in all —had fallen to poison baits. On the Ngamahanga block 171 had been killed by poison, and other kills on individual areas included Oioi 153 (88 oy poison); Woodlands, 65 (56 by poison): Mr. A. C. de Lautour’s, 41 (35 by poison); and Kaihunahuna station, 57 (20 by poison). Adult rabbits killed during the month in Mr. Bennison’s area numbered 939. The position in the Tinirofo district, where incursions of rabbits gave rise to concern last year, was reported on optimistically by the board’s chief inspector, who stated that an inspection was made recently over a large area there with no signs of rabbits found. Only four rabbits were caught in this area during August. Better News from the North The sub-inspector in charge of the northern Wairoa area, Mr. H, Drysdale, reported kills totalling 146 for August, including four on the Whakaki sanddunes, 12 at Te Uhi, seven at Riverina, nine at Mr. McDonald's, 13 ai Ohuka, and six on Ruakaka. Operations against the pest in this area were well distributed, and small kills on a large number of properties indicated steady activity by the rabbiters. A rabbit was reported from the Rae station, but an inspection of the locality had failed to produce any signs. As usual the position in the northern portion of the board’s district, administered from Whakatane, presented a very different picture from that un the infiltration zone between the Wairoa and Mohaka Rivers. The inspector, Mr. If. A. Burgess, reporting from Whakatane, stated that the new’ inspector for that area had taken over most of the work and that he himself had restricted his inspections to the country around Te Teko, Awakeri, Whakatane, Taneatua and Wainui. Rabbits killed in his area totalled 19 for the month, six of these being taken on the Galatea estate.