The Industrial Rabbit

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6948, 29 June 1929, Page 8

The Industrial Rabbit

(To the Editor.) Sir, —It would bo interesting to discover what there is about tho land which distorts tho vision and narrows tho outlook of thoso. who in other respects aro such stalwart pillars of- the national welfare. Reference is made to tho unreasoning and obstinato\antagonism of a certain section of the farming community to tho introduction of the industrial rabbit. Communing with Nature is generally considered as stimulating to the grey matter and productive of some degreo of intelligent observation. So why this pig-headed refusal to admit at least the possibility that the industrial rabbit may mean as much to tho Dominiou as it has to less enlightened countries elsewhere. Fantastic objections have been paraded and abandoned leaving only ono which is persisted in—the risk of liberation. Looked at honestly what is the. risk'} Evan if theso animals could survive in tho natural state, would their escape in a few isolated cases effect the rabbit pest numerically? No —a little slackness on tho part of ono farmer in a district being freed of rabbits would do more harm in ono season than the release of every Angora and Chinchilla that has been imported or born in the country. The opossum with all the damage it does is toleratod because its value has been proved in actual practice. Why doubt tho value of tho rabbit when Germany had 70,000 rabbit farmers as long ago as 1913 and values rabbit farming as a great industry. Germany, by the way has no wild rabbit menace which is at least significant. Why doubt the value of the rabbit when the hutch-roared animal was worth £40,000000 to France last year. More than twice New Zealand’s whole dairy export! Why doubt tho value of the rabbit when Belgium alone exported to tlio United Kingdom over 10,000 tons (repressing 5,000,000 carcases) of rabbit meat in twelve months? When even in Russia tho production has been ordered of two to threo million pedigree rabbits this year? What is wrong with the farmer, is it jealousy, is it merely a dog in the manger attitude, does the land already produce enough? I merely ask for information. I ask because thousands are interested and because the farmers’ fear of tho liberation of a tamo rabbit is as unreasonable as would be a movement on the part of townspeople to exterminate the cow because a bull once got into a china shop.—l am, etc., L. EON. HEYWOOD, Auckland, June 26, 1929.