RABBIT PEST

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4608, 11 October 1934, Page 4

RABBIT PEST

WELL UNDER CONTROL. "I am pleased to assure you that with the exception of a few isolated areas the rabbits are considered to be well under control," said the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. C. E. Macmillan, in a reply received by the Dominion executive of the Farmers' Union to a request that officers of the Department of Agriculture be instructed "to watch carefully the rabbit pest in their respective districts. "This remark applies particularly to the North Island, where a number of rabbit boards are operating, and very good work has been carried out. "Last year the rabbit pest was inclined to increase in some districts, The cause of this was put down, firstly, to the exceptionally mild weather experienced in the breeding season, and, secondly, to many landowners being unable to undertake the cost of rabbiting in view of the low price of wool and farm produce, and the low prices offering for skins. During the past winter, however, there has been a good demand for rabbitskins, with the result that experienced trappers and some of the unemployed have taken up every available block of land. The Department of Agriculture has also distributed a considerable amount of strychnine for poisoning operations, and the result is that the pest is much reduced in numbers. "The Department is carefully watching the position in each locality, and periodic reports from every district are being furnished to head office."